


Guinevere: Terran Warrior (Book Two)

by WhiskeyBandit



Series: Guinevere [2]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance, Sex, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-11-30 19:35:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11470290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskeyBandit/pseuds/WhiskeyBandit
Summary: Guinevere, Yondu's newest protege and lover, is learning to come into her own.





	1. Back In Your Arms

After liberating Gwen from Earth, Peter Quill and the crew of the Milano headed back to the Eclector. It would be a good six hours or so before they reached the ship. Everyone was relaxing in the common room, listening to music and telling Gwen the story of how they came up with the plan to get her back.

“It was so easy!” Rocket laughed. “I don’t know why we didn’t think of it sooner. A simple scrambler took out all of the military’s computers for a good two hours. I bet they didn’t have a clue what was going on!”

“That was quick thinking of you,” added Peter, “sneaking your parent’s address into Yondu’s pocket.”

Gwen was leaning back, snuggled into Yondu’s chest on the couch, enjoying the closeness with her Centaurian husband as he ran his fingers through her hair. “Well, I had to have a plan B just in case.” She sighed, “And it looks like he was right again.” She looked up at him, “You wouldn’t have needed it if I had just listened to you in the first place.”

“Don’t go beatin’ yerself up.” He scolded “You’re back now. S'all that matters.”

“So, what are we going to do about Nova Corps?” Gwen nervously asked nobody in particular.

Everyone just looked around at each other, hoping someone else would say something.

“No plan?” Gwen asked again.

Peter spoke up “Might be best to just lay low for a while. Nova Corps knows who you are now, and if word gets to them that you’re back, we might have a repeat situation on our hands.”

Gwen rolled her eyes, “So that means I don’t get to leave the Eclector for a while.”

“Well, you could stay on with us for a while.” Gamora offered.

“I am Groot.” Groot said to Gwen.

Rocket nodded “That’s true, they wouldn’t be lookin’ for you here. They’d expect you to be with Yondu.”

Gwen didn’t like that idea at all, “Nu uh.” She shook her head, sitting up. “I’ve already been away from him long enough.”

Yondu cleared his throat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He folded his hands together and stared at the floor. “Actually, Gwen, it might just be our safest option.” He looked up at her solemnly.

Gwen sneered at him in disbelief, “You’re not seriously considering this, are you?”

“Uh oh.” Rocket saw where the conversation was headed. “I’m just gonna… go do some technical stuff over there.” He hopped out of the chair and quickly walked out of the room with Groot following close behind.

“I’m just sayin' it’s an option.” Yondu defended.

Gwen stood and threw her hands up in frustration, “Of course you are. You didn’t even want me on your ship in the first place.”

“I think I will assist the furry rodent.” Drax stood up and followed him out. Peter and Gamora both looked at each other and snuck out as well. Soon the room was empty of everyone but Yondu and Gwen.

"That ain't fair!” Yondu stood up and pointed, “You know exactly why I didn’t want you on that ship!”

Gwen’s temper flared, “What’s not fair is the fact that we keep sacrificing our own happiness to appease everyone else!” She started listing off with her fingers “Your crew, then the Kree, and now Nova Corps? When will it end, Yondu?”

“I don’t know!” He shouted back heatedly. Gwen was startled by his outburst. She had heard him yell before, but nothing like that. The look on his face was a mix of rage and frustration. She froze, not knowing what to say, realizing she had caused him to reach a breaking point with her. He stood with his eyes closed, massaging his temples.

Gwen gave him a few moments to collect himself and then apologized. “I’m sorry.” She said in a soft voice.

Yondu shook his head and contorted his face angrily. “Damnit Gwen!” He turned and gestured to the two of them, “ _We_ aren’t even supposed to be together!” He started pacing the floor in front of her and waving his hands around. “We are so _beyond_ incompatible, we can’t even have kids!”

Gwen looked at him confused and interrupted his tirade, “You want to have kids?”

“No!” He huffed and rolled his eyes “I’m just sayin'. It ain't even possible if we wanted to!”

“Oh,” Gwen nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“ _You_ should'a never left Terra. _I_ should'a never gotten involved with you!”

Gwen interrupted him again, concerned with the direction the argument had taken. “You’re not wanting to end this, are you?” She swallowed hard.

He turned and held her face in his hands, “No, no, no. Not at all.”

Gwen nodded, “Okay” she whispered, unable to make her voice work properly.

Yondu sat Gwen back down on the couch, holding her hands. He thought for a moment before speaking again. “You and I, we were never meant to be together. So… it only makes sense that we’re gonna have to work _that much harder_ to stay together. Like, fightin' against a current that’s tryin' ta pull us apart.”

Gwen finally got it. She took a deep breath and let it out, nodding again.

He continued, “Now we can’t let that current win, _but…_ sometimes we might have to let it _think_ it’s winnin'. Only so that it will let up a bit. You get where I’m at?”

Gwen stared off at the wall and begrudgingly agreed, “Yeah.”

“Hey,” he turned her face back to his, “this ain’t forever. You stay with Peter for a bit and we’ll meet back up in a month or two, after we make sure everything is quiet.”

Gwen huffed, “Okay.”

“Besides,” his tone calmed, “you love these guys. You’ll have fun, do some jobs, visit some planets. It’ll be over and you’ll be back on the Eclector, bored out of your mind before you know it.”

Gwen laughed, “The Eclector is anything but boring.”

They heard a sniffle come from the other room. They both turned to look through the entryway and caught Peter eavesdropping. “Oh, hey guys,” He started rubbing his eye and blinking uncontrollably “I got somethin’ in my eye.” He looked all around the room, “I don’t… yeah… I’m just gonna… that way.” He pointed to the door at the other end of the room and walked quickly off.

Yondu grabbed a pillow off of the chair next to him and threw it at Peter, “Get outta here, boy!”

Gwen laughed at Peter’s hasty retreat, “Okay. I’ll stay here then.” She looked at her tattered old t-shirt and sweat pants in disgust, “Besides, I gotta get some new clothes. I’m sure Gamora could help me out again.”

Yondu nodded, “That reminds me. I still got all of your other clothes, and your weapons. I gotta get ‘em back to you before you guys leave.”

Gwen gave him a surprised look “Wow, those stuffy old Nova Corps officers gave them back to you after all?”

“Yeah, apparently you put the fear of death into 'em.” Yondu chuckled.  

 

Gwen made her way to the old room that Yondu used while he stayed with Peter seven months earlier. The room Gwen had shared with him for four of the six weeks she travelled with them. She would have been getting settled in, _if_ she had anything to settle in with. As it was, she had no clothes other than what was on her back; not even any shoes on her feet. When they left Earth, they left in a hurry. The only thing of value she had on her was her wedding ring, the one thing her mother couldn’t take from her. She looked down at the bright blue stone, caressing it fondly.

Yondu walked in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. “This sure brings back memories, don't it?” He kissed her neck.

Gwen placed her left hand over Yondu’s and caressed his face with the other. She grinned mischievously, “I think it’s time to make some new memories.”

“Hmmm… what you got in mind, Mrs. Udonta?” He kissed her neck some more and then licked her earlobe. Gwen turned around, wrapped her arms around Yondu’s neck and kissed him passionately. He pulled her tightly against himself with one arm while cupping her face with his other hand. “God, I’ve missed you.”

Gwen was about to respond, but they were interrupted by Gamora standing in the still-open doorway. “Ehem.” She said, pretending to clear her throat. 

Gwen pulled away and looked around Yondu to the door, “Hi!” She said smiling, her cheeks slightly pink. It was then that Gwen noticed the pile of clothes and boots in Gamora’s arms.

“I thought you might want to borrow these again. The boots might not fit as well, but you shouldn’t have to wear them long.”

“Oh my gosh! Thank you, Gamora! You’re a lifesaver!” She took the clothes and shoes from Gamora and set them on the bed, pulling out the shirt and pants to look them over.

“No problem,” she smiled, “We’ll be heading to Boson after we drop Yondu off. We’ll be able to get you a new uniform then.” She glanced over and realized Yondu was giving her an impatient look. “ _But_ we can discuss that later. I’m sure you two have some… _catching up_ do to.” She winked at Gwen and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

Yondu set the boots on the floor and took the shirt and pants out of Gwen’s hands, setting them on the chair.

“Hey,” she chided, halfheartedly.

Yondu grabbed Gwen’s face and started kissing her again, “I haven’t seen you in a month. And in a few hours, I’m gonna be leavin' you for _another_ month.” He took off his jacket and threw it over the same chair, “I want… no, I _need,_ some quality time with my wife.” He leaned in, kissing her neck and squeezing her ass.

“Hmmm…” she closed her eyes and relaxed, caressing his arms. “You seem to like using that word.”

“It’s got a nice ring to it.” Yondu mumbled into her neck.

Gwen quickly pulled off her t-shirt. Yondu attended to the other side of her neck while she unbuttoned his vest. She pulled it off his arms and threw it to the floor. He then moved his lips to hers as he unbuttoned his shirt. Gwen smoothed her hands over Yondu’s chest, reminding herself of every curve and line. It didn’t take her long to find his pants and unbutton those too. Yondu pulled his shirt off of his shoulders and let it drop. He picked Gwen up by her waist and laid her down on the bed. She unhooked her bra and tossed it over the edge of the bed. Yondu groaned as he went for her breasts, kissing and licking her nipples. He reached down to her ass and pulled her sweatpants, and her panties, off in one fell swoop. Then he pulled his own pants off and sent them over the edge of the bed as well.

Gwen wasted no time wrapping her legs around Yondu’s hips. She kissed him hard on the mouth as she eagerly pulled him to her. Already wet, she reached down and guided him in easily. She moaned and he growled, and the lovers fell right back into place. The past and the future no longer mattered. They were whole again, if only for this moment. They existed only to love each other.

Yondu kissed Gwen’s neck and caressed her body. Gwen took in everything of Yondu that she could. The sound of his breathing in her ear, the warmth of his lips and his breath on her neck, the weight of his body on top of her, the gentleness of his hand as it moved over her leg, her hip, her waist. She watched the bright blue skin of his stomach tighten and relax over his muscles as he thrusted in and out, and she memorized the glorious feeling of his member filling her over and over again. She closed her eyes and kissed his neck, taking in his scent.

“Yondu” she whispered his name.

He pulled his head away to look at her, “What’s wrong?” He whispered back.

She stared deep into his dark red eyes with adoration. “Nothing,” she smiled.

He returned the smile and caught her mouth with another kiss. He reached down and massaged in between her legs. She moaned again and he quickened his pace. It didn’t take long before they both climaxed into a euphoric orgasm. Yondu collapsed on top of Gwen, breathing heavily. She slowly stroked his head, his ear, and the side of his face.

With his eyes still closed, his breathing began to slow. Neither spoke for a long moment. Gwen stared up at the ceiling, still stroking Yondu’s face, wondering how she was going to make it through another month, or more, without him. She thought he had fallen asleep, until he finally spoke.

“You glad to finally see your family?” His rough voice cut through the silence. He rolled over onto his back, his eyes fixed on her expression.

Gwen rolled over, resting her head on Yondu’s chest. “I guess so.”

“You _guess_ so?” he smoothed his hands through her long black hair.

Gwen sighed, “Honestly, I was too depressed to care. All I could think about was you. What made matters worse was the fact that my mother didn’t believe a word I said. She was convinced I had been kidnapped and held hostage. That I was a victim of Stockholm Syndrome.” Gwen scoffed.

“What’s that?” Yondu asked curiously.

“It’s when someone feels sympathy for their captor. They often wind up falling in love with them.”

“Wow!” Yondu laughed, “If she only knew.”

Gwen chuckled, “Neither my dad nor my sister believed it. They didn’t know what to make of me, but at least they were willing to listen. Oh, and Robbie,” Gwen laughed again, “Robbie, in all his innocence, never once questioned the validity of my tales. He ate up every story of my adventures with Star Lord, Captain Udonta and the entire band of misfit space pirates.”

“I’m guessin' that’s how he knew all our names, huh?” Yondu remembered Robbie’s excitement in the brief few minutes he met him. He looked to be about Peter’s age when he took him, and full of just as much spunk.

Gwen yawned, “Yup. I told him all about you guys.” She grew quiet for a moment. “He was the only one who would let me cry over you. Such a sweet little boy. Anytime he saw me crying, he would sit next to me, or lay down with me. He would just hug me and say ‘I know you miss him, Aunt Gwennie.’” Gwen realized that she had been crying. She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and then wiped the tears from Yondu’s chest. “Anyway, so now you know. My visit wasn’t exactly pleasant. She had me in and out of doctors for weeks trying to prove I was insane and ‘unfit’ to care for myself.”

Yondu internally scolded himself for thinking, even as briefly as he did, about leaving her on Earth. She had been hurting just as badly as he had been. “I shoulda gotten to you sooner.”

She rubbed his chest, “It’s not your fault. If anything, it’s mine. I should have listened to you. We should have run.”

“Don’t do that. You did what you felt was right.” He kissed the top of her head, as he used to do so often. “If you had chosen to run, you wouldn’t a been the woman I fell for.”

“No,” Gwen teased, “I would have been smarter.”

Yondu scoffed, “Shut up.” They both laughed and then grew quiet once more.

Yondu thought back to that night so long ago; the night that ruined everything. He had taken her out dancing, in that light blue ball gown, so out of character from the warrior princess he had spent months grooming her to become. He remembered the Kree soldier that tried to use Gwen as a way to punish him. But it didn’t work. She had killed him. Her first kill and it was a Kree soldier. An act of war, according to the Kree. The Nova Corps had traded her freedom, and exiled her back on her home planet, in return for the safety of Xandar. He loved Gwen for making such an honorable decision. To go and face her sentencing, instead of running as he had begged her to do. He hated Nova Prime for forcing her to make that decision. But Yondu couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave her on Earth. He was too selfish. Nova Prime had warned him that he was not to remove her from the planet again. It was a good thing that Peter didn’t get the same message. If Nova Prime wanted to play semantics, Peter was the one that went and got her. Yondu just went along for the ride. Though it sounded like Gwen’s turbulent emotional state, and her tense relationship with her mother played a large role in her decision to return to the stars with him. Her sentencing was more than she could handle. How strange, your life could be turned so upside down in just 6 short months that your former, happy life, now seemed like eternal damnation.

Yondu rubbed his eyes and let out a hard sigh. “I love you” he whispered, but there was no response. He looked down at his warrior princess and found her fast asleep. He kissed her head one last time and then fell asleep himself.


	2. Returning Home

Yondu awoke to a knocking at the door. “Yeah!” He yelled, a little too loudly, rubbing his face. The sound of his voice jerked Gwen from her sleep.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Peter’s voice was muffled through the door, “but we’re about an hour away.”

“Right. We’ll be out in a bit.” Yondu sat up and looked around. He smiled at his Terran wife, naked and stretching across the bed. He lowered himself onto her, wrapping his arm around her waist, nuzzling his face into her neck. She locked her arms around him and he heard a faint whimper escaper her lips. Yondu quickly realized she was sobbing. If he had been a weaker man, any other man, he would have broken down along with her. As it was, he could feel his heart being ripped out of his chest. He gritted his teeth and collected himself. “Hey,” he said, pulling away from Gwen’s embrace to look her sternly in the eyes, “It’s gonna be okay. We can do this.” Gwen smiled and nodded as she held his face in her hands. He wiped her tears away. “Just one more month. That’s it, and it'll all be over.”

“You promise? Only one month?” She begged. She knew it was not a guarantee he could make, but she would eagerly embrace the lie if he gave it to her. 

He sighed and nodded, “I promise,” he whispered.

 

The two emerged from the room with fifteen minutes to spare. Gwen, wearing the borrowed clothes Gamora had given her, walked to the cockpit and watched with impatience as they neared The Eclector… her home. She began to bounce on her toes and started to fidget with her nails as she stared wide eyed at the large ship. It was an intimidating site to just about anyone else. But to Gwen, it was representative of everything Yondu was; threatening and dangerous on the outside, but comforting and protective on the inside. She beamed at it with pride.

Yondu watched her restless expression and smirked, “You wanna go with me to get yer stuff?”

She whipped around and jumped “Yes!”

Peter folded his arms and shook his head, sneering at the ship. He tilted his head sideways, “I don’t get what you see in that old rust bucket. I hated that ship. Couldn’t wait to get off it.” They were coasting into the bay, seconds away from docking.

Gwen pointed a finger in his face defensively, “You watch what you say about my rust bucket, little brother!”

“You’re shorter!” he teased, but she was already running off to the bay doors.

“You’re younger!” She shouted back.

She stood anxiously chewing on her lip, waiting for Rocket to open the bay doors.

“Calm down.” Yondu scolded. “Remember, old rules still apply. Don’t take no shit.”

Gwen nodded and breathed a heavy sigh to try to calm herself. “I remember, no shit.”

“Alright, we can’t stay too long.” Rocket warned as he looked down at his tablet. “We’ve got about five, maybe six hours, and then we gotta jet. The last thing we need is Nova Corps catching both ships together.”

Peter nodded. “Six hours. Let’s give Gwen as much time as we can. But keep an eye on the stars just in case.”

Rocket nodded back, “You got it.” He finally opened the bay doors.

Kraglin stood on the catwalk, just outside the ship. He was all business, as usual. “Captain, Gwen, good to have you ba-“ He didn’t get to finish before Gwen jumped at him with a sneak attack hug. The initial shock on his face quickly gave way to a blushing grin and he cautiously hugged her back, keeping a wary eye on Yondu.

Yondu’s expression was a mix of confusion, irritation and slight amusement. “Um, Gwen,” he folded his arms taking in the spectacle. “That’s my first mate. That ain’t appropriate.”

“Don’t care.” She mumbled into Kraglin’s jacket.

Kraglin attempted to choke back a laugh and shrugged his shoulders.

Gwen finally pulled away and sighed once more as she straightened Kraglin’s jacket. “I missed you.”

Kraglin smiled, “We all missed you too, Gwen. The boys are excited to have you back.” She knew he was referring to her small group of card playing friends Obo, Eugene, and Merle. They, and Kraglin, were the only other members of the ship, besides Yondu, that Gwen was able to let her guard down with. She missed spending time laughing and joking with her friends, and her heart began to break again.

Gwen gave Yondu a solemn glance and then looked back at Kraglin, “Well… unfortunately I can’t stay.”

“What?” Kraglin gave Yondu a shocked look.

Gwen continued, “We decided it would be best for us to stay away from each other for a bit. Nova Corps is no doubt going to catch wind of this and it would be in Yondu’s best interest-“

Yondu jerked, “ _My_ best interest?”

“ _Our_ best interest…” she quickly corrected “… if we’re not together when it happens.”

Kraglin watched them both curiously “Okay. So how long you plannin’ on bein’ gone?”

“Hopefully only a month.” She clapped her hands together, “So for now, I’ve got to get my things and quickly say my hello’s and goodbye’s and then take off.”

“And we only got six hours so let’s get movin’.” Yondu ushered them both down the catwalk. The rest of Peter’s crew followed behind, heading to the cafeteria for some lunch and then to grab supplies.

 

Yondu went with Gwen to their room to help her pack, though Gwen was expecting him to go straight to his office for a meeting. “Don’t you have ‘captain’ business to take care of?” She asked curiously.

“I can take care of that later. I’m not leavin' your side until I have to.” Yondu brushed his hand over his nose and smoothed his beard. His eyes were fixed and his jaw seemed to tense.

She was glad for his company, but Gwen could tell something had unsettled him. She knew that stern look well. “What’s wrong?”

“Keep walkin’.” He curtailed her in a low voice.

Uh, oh. That tone meant _she_ did something wrong. Her heart sank, but she knew she wasn’t going to get any answers out of him until they were alone in their room. She walked quietly, trying to remember what she may have said, or done, to upset him. Was it hugging Kraglin? She knew he wasn’t the jealous type, or at least, he trusted her enough to know she would never stray. Did one of the crewmen _see_ her hug him? If so, that could be seen as a weakness on both their parts. Her for doing it and him for letting it happen. Her mind was spinning with possible scenarios and potential outcomes, but it was killing her not knowing why he was angry.

They finally reached their room. Gwen walked in first and turned around, blurting out a long winded and fast-talking apology, “I’m sorry for hugging Kraglin. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but he is one of my closest friends here and-“

 “Why did you say _my_ best interest?” Yondu interrupted her with a stern tone.

“What?” Gwen was caught off guard.

“You told Kraglin it was in _my_ best interest. Not ours. Why?”

Gwen was still trying to remember that part of the conversation. “I dunno, I guess it was just a Freudian slip.”

“A what?” Yondu was both confused and irritated.

Gwen huffed and shrugged, staring up at the ceiling and then back at Yondu, “A slip of the tongue. I was thinking it, but didn’t mean to say it. I’m sorry.”

Yondu walked closer to her, even more irritated, “Why would you still think this is just in my best interest and not yours?”

Gwen straightened up and defended herself firmly. “Because it’s true! It would bode worse for you than for me.”

He stuck his finger in her face, scolding her. “If we get caught, you go back to Terra!”

“And if we’re caught together, _you_ go to prison!” Gwen snapped back. “Tell me, which one is worse?” she glared at him sideways. He didn’t say anything to that argument. “So yeah, it would be in _your_ best interest for us to stay apart. It’s a hell of a lot easier to get me off of Earth than it would be to get you out of prison.” Gwen huffed and folded her arms.

Yondu stared down at the floor, scratching the back of his ear, “Didn’t think about that.”

Gwen threw her arms up, “I don’t understand why you’re getting so upset over the comment anyway. It’s all a moot point.” She walked into to the bathroom. She pulled a luggage bag out of the closet and opened it up on the bed.

Yondu sighed, “Cause I know you didn’t wanna do this in the first place. Seemed like it was a jab at me for forcing you to go along with it.” He walked over to the dresser and pulled out Gwen’s gun and dagger.

Gwen scoffed, “Babe, if I didn’t want to go along with it, there’s nothing you could do to stop me from staying on this ship.”

He walked back to the bed and handed her the weapons, “Oh you think so, huh?”

She took them and smiled, “Oh I _know_ so.” She teased.

Yondu shook his head and chuckled, “Yeah, yer probably right.”

Yondu helped Gwen pack up the rest of her things, including her dead cell phone. She hoped Rocket would be able to get it charged again. She missed her music and, after everything that had happened the last month, realized how valuable the camera function would have been. If she could get it working again, she would make sure to take at least one picture a day. Pictures of Yondu, of herself, her friends, the planets they visited… everything. It was torture being back on Earth with her ring being the only physical evidence that Yondu even existed. She had no pictures to admire, and she definitely couldn’t draw. She stared at the blank screen and wondered how long it would have taken her mother to convince her that she really was crazy; that she had made the whole thing up in her head. A year? Five years? Ten? The thought sent Gwen into a panic and her heart began to pound. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, setting the phone in her bag. She looked up at her lover and he looked down at her and smiled his sharp, crooked tooth smile.

“You okay?” He asked her sincerely.

“Yeah,” She smiled back and hugged him around the waist. “I’m okay.”

After they had finished packing up, the plan was to head to the deck to brief the officer’s on the situation and collaborate with Peter’s crew. As they headed away from the officer’s quarters, Gwen stopped Yondu in the hallway “Hey, I know you said you didn’t want to leave my side, but I really want to go see my friends and they probably wouldn’t be too comfortable with you tagging along.” She gave him an awkward smile.

Yondu thought for a moment and then nodded, “Alright, but meet me on deck in one hour.”

Gwen nodded once and smiled “Yes, Sir.” She hurriedly looked around for any stray crewmen and then gave him a quick kiss.

 

Gwen walked at a fast pace down the stairs and across the catwalk to the door of the engine room. She climbed down another flight of stairs and then turned a corner, ducking and rounding the pipes that snaked throughout the underbelly of the ship. As dark, dreary and loud as it was, the engine room was her favorite part of the ship. She knew the twists and turns better than most of the crewmen, aside from the grease monkeys that worked down there. She made one final turn into the dimly lit break room. There she found Obo, Merle and sweet old Eugene, playing cards and drinking.

“Is there room for one more?” she smiled eagerly.

The men looked over at the door. “Ha, ha! Hey! There she is! It’s about time!” Eugene grinned and stood up, walking over to give Gwen a big bear hug. “You’ve been gone too long, kiddo!”

Obo stood up and hugged her more gently than Eugene had, though in all fairness, his biceps could probably snap her like a twig. “Good to have you back, Gwen.” He smiled and sat back down.

Merle’s shyness kept him from hugging Gwen, but he stood up and gave her a nod “Hello again, Miss Gwen.”

“Awe come on now, Merle. Bring it in.” She walked over to him and gave him a hug and he blushed.

“Come sit down and tell us all about your adventures on Terra.” Eugene’s voice boomed.

She sat down and leaned on the table, “Well there’s not much to tell. And I wouldn’t have much time to tell it anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Obo asked, taking a sip of his liquor.

Gwen sighed, “I can’t stay.”

“What?” Eugene sat up, shocked.

“I’m going back to the Milano with Peter for a while. Just until everything settles down with Nova Corps.”

“Ah,” Eugene nodded “harder to catch two birds headed in opposite directions.”

“Exactly.”

“When ya shippin’ out?” he smoothed his long grey beard.

“In a few hours, but Captain wants me back on deck in about forty-five minutes. He’s not too keen on me being out of eyesight right now.”

“I suspect not.” Eugene agreed.

“Forty-five minutes, huh?” Obo asked as he picked up the deck of cards and began shuffling them. “Sounds like we got just enough time to play one round.” He grinned.

Gwen smacked the table, “Let’s do this.”

While they played, Gwen told the boys about her time on Earth, how her mother tried to have her committed, and how her nephew Robbie loved hearing her stories about the crew. She laughed as she reminisced about watching Star Trek, scaring her mother with a pencil dart, and being so stubborn the entire time that the Captain would have been proud.

Before she knew it, she had lost the game, and her time with her friends was up. She gave them all hugs one last time, even Merle, and headed back to the ship deck as the boys went back to work.

 

Gwen found her captain at the helm, resting on his elbow and giving her a stern look. “Five more minutes and I woulda been sendin' a search party.” He was only half joking.

She stopped in front of him and held her hands behind her back, “Sorry, Sir.” The ship deck was the one place Gwen didn’t mess around. Up here, she was not Yondu’s wife, she was a crewmen, and she took the part seriously. It was never difficult separating Captain Udonta from her Yondu, because his demeanor changed so strikingly between the two factions of his life. In private, or around those that he trusted the most, he was relaxed, playful, and kind. In front of his crew and everyone else, though, it -was a whole different story. He was strict, cold, and always calculating. Even towards Gwen, when they were in the company of other crew members, he rarely showed affection. A rare quick kiss, wink or pat on the backside was all she would get.

He refused to let her dote on him, either. For her to hang on him like a common whore in front of the men was, in his mind, an insult to her position. She was a strong, capable warrior, first and foremost, and the wife of the most powerful man on the ship second; and she was to act like it.

He looked her up and down and then grunted, “Come on.” He stood up and gestured for her to follow him. He led her to his office where Peter and his crew and Yondu’s officers were all waiting for them.

Gwen looked confused “Is this an officer’s meeting?”

“Of sorts.” He shut the door behind them, “Take a seat.” Gwen sat down at an empty seat next to Gamora, while Yondu took his place at the head of the table. “We already discussed the situation, but I wanted to fill you in on the details and give you the opportunity to address any questions you might have.”

Tullk started, speaking to Gwen directly, “So the plan is to keep a safe distance between ships until we either get confirmation from Nova Corps that we’re clear, or we’re sure that we’re completely off their radar.”

“Any ideas on how long might that take?” Gwen asked hesitantly.

“Honestly, we don’t know. But we’re sticking with the one month timeframe for now. If we have to reevaluate after that, we’ll let you guys know.” He looked over at Peter.

“So calling is okay, then?” Gwen asked.

Yondu answered that one, “We’re gonna keep calls to a minimum. Five minutes once a week, less somethin' else comes up. We won’t know if Nova Corps will be keepin tabs on our communications. Better to be cautious.”

Peter spoke up, “Also, we’re going to keep our jobs small and around Boson territory for now. We don’t want to be in a position where we might need help from the Eclector.”

Gwen nodded. She was glad for a plan, a schedule, and work to keep her busy for the next four weeks. It would help her keep her mind off of things. Plus, she was anxious to get back to work. She had refused to do anything productive while back on earth out of pure rebellion to her mother’s insistence that she ‘get on with her life’.

Yondu folded his hands and looked down the table at Gwen, “Any more questions for us?”

Gwen thought for a moment, but couldn’t come up with anything. She was still in shock that she was sitting in on an officer’s meeting… of sorts. She had never been allowed to sit in on one before, since she was not technically an officer. But it seemed Yondu made an exception this time since this meeting directly involved her. “No, I don’t think so.”

Yondu nodded. “Good,” he looked down at his tablet “We got two hours before you guys gotta ship out, Peter. Ya’ll make the most of it. Meetin' is adjourned.”

Peter leaned down to Gwen, placing his arm on her shoulder. “Meet you back at the Milano in two, okay?”

“Got it.” She smiled as Peter patted her back.

Yondu stood up and ushered the room out, shutting the door behind them, leaving only him and Gwen. Gwen stood up and placed her hands behind her back, waiting for Yondu to give her an order.

Yondu looked around the room, confused. “What are you doin? Everyone’s gone.”

Gwen shrugged, “I’m sorry, Sir. This is your office. In here you’re Captain Udonta.” The strict, calculating Captain Udonta intimidated Gwen in a way that the relaxed, playful Yondu did not. She still loved and admired him in this capacity, but his presence commanded a respect that was almost instinctive on a subconscious level. And this room, his office on the ship deck, where the peak of his leadership came to a head, made it that much more impactful.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed her arms. Gwen still couldn’t force herself to reciprocate his affection, though her breath hitched and her heartbeat quickened. He tilted his eyes to hers, “I’m still your husband.”

Gwen pursed her lips and shook her head, “Not in here, you’re not.”

“Hmmm.” Yondu smirked mischievously. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her into himself “So, what if I did this?” He leaned down and began kissing her neck.

Gwen’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and her knees went weak. His dominance over her in the current setting was tapping into a carnal fetish Gwen had never realized before. But she still refused to touch him back. “Hhh… hiiighly inappropriate… sssir,” She panted.

Yondu snickered, entertained by his wife’s peculiar behavior. “And this?” He cupped her face in his hands and licked her lips before kissing her forcefully.

Gwen grew lightheaded and grabbed Yondu’s belt loops to steady herself. The repercussions of which caused her to pull his hips into hers. Yondu chuckled again in amusement. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her ass, causing a squeak to escape her mouth.

For some odd reason, she felt like she was doing something sinful. Like the college professor seducing his student. She was reveling in the wickedness of it all, but couldn’t shake the paranoia that came with it. She grabbed his arms and pulled her mouth away from his, panting, “What if somebody sees us?” She asked with all sincerity.

Yondu laughed hysterically, which echoed out onto the deck. The deck crew all turned to look at the door, slightly confused and slightly tickled. Kraglin, seated at the helm, cleared his throat “Back to work ya bunch o’ pervs.” They returned to their duties with a few laughs and snickers here and there. Even Kraglin had to force the grin from his own face.

Yondu finally calmed his laughter, “If anyone opens that door without knockin’, they’re likely gettin’ an arrow to the head.” He excitedly went back to kissing her.

Gwen shook her head, pulling away again, “In this room, sir,” she breathed, still hanging onto his arms, “I am not your wife, I am your subordinate.”

“Well then,” Yondu pulled away and took a step back with a grin. He folded his arms and stared her down, “I _order_ you to take off your clothes.”

Gwen tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow. Yondu was certain he saw a fleeting smirk sneak across her face. “Yes, Sir.” Now this, Gwen thought, she could get on board with. She was doing nothing wrong. Only following the orders of her very seductive, and very handsome, Captain.

He watched as Gwen pulled off her shirt and then her bra. The sight of her breasts made him growl, which he quickly covered up with a fake cough. He could feel himself growing in his pants. He wanted to take her then, but he stood patiently waiting for her to finish. She unbuckled her boots and slipped them off, then unbuttoned her pants and slid them off. She kicked them to the side and stood wearing nothing but her white cotton panties.

Gwen did not take her eyes off of the Captain’s, but his were wondering all over her body. “Should I continue, Captain?” She was enjoying this dominant/submissive roleplay much more than she had anticipated.

It took him a moment to respond, “Oh yes, yes. Please continue.”

She slowly hooked her thumbs into her panties and slid them down to her ankles, tossing them to the side with her pants. She waited for another order from him, but he just stood and stared at her naked body. “Sir?” she asked, trying to get his attention.

Yondu nodded slowly, “Now, I want you to undress me.”

No no, she thought to herself, Simon didn’t say. “Is that an order, Sir?” She asked nonchalantly.

“That _is_ an order.” He looked back into her eyes, waiting to see if there was even a hint of hesitation on her face. But there was none. She closed the gap between their bodies and took his jacket by the lapel. She slid it off of his shoulders and tossed it over a chair.

She looked up into his eyes briefly, realizing that he was staring into hers now. She slowly and meticulously unhooked each button from his vest and then set it on the chair with his jacket. She looked back into his eyes again and they were still trained on hers. She let a small smile play on her lips. She started to notice that as she removed his uniform, the dominant, commanding Captain was fading away into her soft, loving husband. She unbuttoned his dress shirt, revealing his taught muscles that hid under his uniform. She slowly and sensually ran her fingers over his stomach, his chest, and his arms, as she slid his shirt off. She tilted her head adoringly as she continued to smooth her hands over his chest and stomach. “You see?” He spoke softly to her, caressing her cheek, “I’m still your Yondu.”

And with that, the office was now just a room. And the man that stood before her was the passionate, strong, handsome man she fell in love with. Forgetting herself, Gwen hungrily kissed all over Yondu’s chest as she grabbed his pants and removed them with fervor. Yondu picked up Gwen by the ass and set her on the large wooden table. He wasted no time leading his lips back to hers. He carefully removed the band from her ponytail and let her long, black hair fall across her shoulders. She finally wrapped her arms around him as he laid her back against the table. He picked up her left leg and wrapped it around himself. Gwen followed suit with the other. He reached down in between her legs and slid his fingers inside her, making sure she was ready for him. Gwen let out a whimper as her hips jerked towards him. He slid his fingers back out and then guided himself in, massaging all around her folds as he did.

Gwen let out a loud moan, which got the attention of the deck crew once again. They glanced, wide eyed back and forth at each other. “Break time.” Kraglin ordered, “All a ya’ll, get out.” The men quickly exited the deck. Kraglin just shook his head and chuckled once more. Another moan came from the back room. “Go Cap’n, getcha some.” Kraglin said under his breath as he casually flipped through his tablet.

“I’m sorry,” Gwen panted in between thrusts, “I’m trying to be quiet!”

"S'okay.” Yondu whispered back.

She tried her best to keep quiet, but the waves of pleasure were more than she could manage. She let out another moan. “Fuck!” she scolded herself a little too loudly. Gwen bit down on Yondu’s neck, trying to keep from making noise. Yondu growled lustfully in return, an unintended side effect. Yondu caught her lips with his and held her there, letting her moan into his mouth. He promptly sped up, massaging her more vigorously, causing her to moan louder. The combination sent Gwen over the edge. She arched herself into him as she orgasmed, every inch of her body pulling him tighter into her. She let out one last moan as she shuddered and collapsed back onto the table. She laid there with her eyes closed, her hands tangled in her hair, her legs still wrapped around Yondu, trying to catch her breath. The blue man leaned back, admiring his wife’s naked body. He ran his fingers over her soft, pale skin, from her mouth, down her neck, chest and stomach, to the folds in between her legs. He continued to thrust slowly into her, grinning with satisfaction while watching her body tremble with each insertion. With her eyes still closed, Gwen reached down and grabbed Yondu’s hand. She put it to her mouth and began sucking on his fingers.

“Oh god,” Yondu groaned as he eagerly watched her enjoying the taste of herself. He grabbed her hip with his other hand and began thrusting harder again. Yondu gritted and bared his teeth as he let out a final growl and came inside Gwen. Gwen squeezed her eyes shut tight and whimpered. She could have easily cum again if he let her. Yondu slowed down, leaning over the table to steady himself. Once his heart and breathing calmed, he gently pulled out.

Yondu picked Gwen’s panties up off the floor and slid them back over her feet, kissing her legs all the way up to her hips.

Gwen giggled, “Well played, old man.” She gingerly sat up and slid off of the table, into his arms.

Yondu grinned, “Guess I ain’t that old yet, then.” He closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head, breathing in her scent. It was going to be a very long month. He knelt down and picked her pants up off the floor and held them out, waiting for her to slide her legs through.

“What is this?” She asked amused.

“You undressed me, so now I will dress you.”

“Oh, okay.” She slipped her legs through and let Yondu slide them up and button them. He picked her up and sat her back on the table. He picked up her boots and slid them back on her feet and then buckled each one. He had a little trouble with the bra, so Gwen helped him with it, and then he helped her with her shirt. 

He picked the hair tie up off the floor and gave her a confused look. “I could try,” He started, but Gwen stopped him with a wave of her hand.

“Nope, it’s no use without a brush.” She laughed. “We’re already gonna have to ‘walk-of-shame’ our way out of here, we might as well own it.”

“Walk of what?” Yondu laughed.

“Never mind, another one of them Terran things.” They both laughed and Yondu got himself dressed while Gwen tried to smooth out the tangles in her hair. She gave up and decided to just braid it instead.

“That’s nice,” Yondu nodded to her hair as he buttoned his vest back up.

“Really? You think so?” She asked him honestly.

“Yeah, think it suits you.” He slipped his jacket back on and pulled her in for another kiss.

He held her hand as he opened the door and led her out of the room. Yondu was surprised to see the deck completely empty, aside from his first mate, who was currently lounging in his chair, reading a magazine. “Where’s the crew?” Yondu scolded.

“Break.” Kraglin replied.

“Deck crew don’t take breaks together.” Yondu countered.

“They did today.” Kraglin grinned without missing a beat, flipping another page.

Gwen looked at Yondu’s baffled face and busted up laughing. She took his hand and led him off the ship deck, “Thank you, Kraglin.” She called over her shoulder. 

“No problem.” He waved after them.

 

They went back to their room to get Gwen’s bag. Yondu slung it over his shoulder and headed for the liquor cabinet.

“You know, I can carry that myself.” Gwen chided.

“I don’t mind.” He said as he unlocked the top cabinet and pulled out a tall, clear bottle. “Besides, you’ll be carryin' this.” He handed her the bottle.

“What’s this?” she asked, confused.

“It’s Curati. Same stuff we drank that first night in my room.” 

Gwen was shocked, “Are you sure?” Curati was a fine liquor from his home planet. Not something he could easily obtain, and often came with a hefty price tag.

“I’m sure.” Yondu tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “I want you to take a drink every night before you go to bed. Think of me and all the adventures we still plan on havin’. If the bottle empties before you come home, I’ll come and get you myself.”

Gwen choked back her tears, “I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” She looked back up at him. She was honored to be given such a gift.

He kissed her forehead, “Let’s be gettin’ you back on the Milano. Can’t put this off any longer.”

They walked slowly back to the m-class ship. Yondu refused to let go of Gwen’s hand, which was completely out of character in front of his crew. She wondered if her leaving was hitting him harder than he let on. He seemed to be breaking quite a few of his own rules today. She tucked the heavy bottle into her chest protectively. Neither one spoke the entire way.

 

When they finally reached the ship, Peter was standing at the bay doors waiting for them. Yondu handed her bag to him. “You ready, little sister?”

Gwen turned to hug her husband one last time. She kissed him passionately and then slowly pulled away. She had a smile on her face and a tear streaming down her cheek. “Yeah, I’m ready.” She stepped onto the ship and turned to watch the doors shut.

“You keep my baby girl safe, Peter.” Yondu ordered.

“You got it, Sir.” Peter replied. And with that, he shut the bay doors.

Gwen could still see Yondu through the small window, and she stood, unmoving, as Peter ordered Rocket to ship out. As they pulled away, she watched Yondu shrink in the background. She refused to turn away until she could no longer see the blue of his skin. Once he was no longer visible, Gwen shut her eyes and took a deep breath, turning around to face the crew. They were all staring at her cautiously, waiting to see what she would do.

“You okay there, kiddo?” Peter asked her warily.

Was she okay? She looked around the room, internally testing her own emotions. This surely was nothing like the last time she was forced to leave her captain and her ship. For starters, it was not done under duress. She chose to leave on her own terms, for the safety of herself and her husband. Secondly, she was still with her friends, on a ship she loved. There was no one here to tell her to forget Yondu, or to treat her like she was insane. She had evidence of her love and her life all around her, including the precious bottle she still clutched to her chest. Nobody would threaten to take them away. And lastly, they had a plan. She knew there was an end in sight and she could keep busy until then.

Gwen took another deep breath and smiled to herself. “Yeah… I think I’m gonna be just fine.”


	3. Busywork

Gwen was finally getting settled into her room. She put her clothes away and wrapped the bottle of Curati in a towel and set it in the desk cabinet along with a shot glass Peter had given her. She pulled out her hairbrush and was about to brushed out her braid, until she remembered what Yondu had said about it suiting her. She decided to leave it in.

Gwen walked over to the bed, which was still a mess from earlier that day. She smoothed the sheets where Yondu had laid, an indent from his fin still on the pillow. She laid down on the bed and hugged the pillow tight, breathing in Yondu’s cologne-mixed-with-machine-oil scent that still permeated the fibers. An ache began to fill Gwen’s chest. She could feel her throat closing up and her eyes begin to burn. She broke down and screamed into the pillow, letting out the fire in her chest. She gave herself permission to cry, but only for a few minutes. After that, she would pull herself together and make sure to stay as busy as possible.

 

Gwen went out to the common room and found Drax, Groot and Rocket working on various projects. Drax was sharpening his knives while Rocket and Groot were tinkering with a box full of wires. “Okay!” She smiled at them widely “Who’s gonna be my sparring partner?”

“Sparring? On the ship?” Drax looked confused.

“Yeah. I haven’t practiced in forever and I need a refresher. Besides, Yondu and I fought in here before.”

“Yeah and you guys almost broke the furniture.” Rocket scoffed.

“No breaking my furniture!” Peter shouted from the cockpit.

“Come on guys!” Gwen whined. “I need something to keep myself busy.”

Gamora walked in from the cockpit, “Don’t worry, Gwen, we’ll find something for you to do. We’ll be to Boson by tomorrow and you and I can spar after we get your new uniform.” She sat down next to Drax and began polishing the knives he had already sharpened. Drax nodded at her appreciatively.

Gwen huffed and plopped down on the couch. “Fine.” She looked over at the mess Rocket and Groot had made. “What are you guys doing?”

“We’re rewiring the comm system with a new encryption device. Hopefully we can head off the Nova Corps bastards before they catch on to our conversations.” Rocket continued to strip wires while Groot held the completed ends out of way to keep them from getting tangled.

“Oh!” Talking about the comm system reminded Gwen to ask Rocket about her phone. “I was wondering if you might be able to get my phone working again. Do you think you could try?”

He raised a furry eyebrow, “Like to make another call to Terra? We’re way too far out for that.”

“No, no calls. The battery is dead and I don’t exactly have a charger out here. I just want to use it to listen to music and take pictures.”

“Oh,” Rocket nodded “Yeah I think I can do that. Bring it out and I’ll work on it when I’m done with this.”

“Thank you!” She jumped up and hugged the raccoon. She was already headed to her room before he could protest.

“You gotta stop with that huggin’ shit or I’m gonna stop doin’ you favors!” He yelled down the hall.

“Never!” He heard her argue back.

Rocket shook his head, but a small smirk fell over his face.

“I am Groot.” Groot snickered at Rocket.

“Shut up! I am not gettin’ soft! You see what you’re doin’ to me?!” Rocket yelled down the hall again. “You’re ruining my perfectly good reputation!”

Drax laughed and shook his head.

“What’s your problem, Chuckles?” Rocket grumbled at Drax.

“Your reputation has never been perfect, or good.” He laughed again.

“You wanna piece of me, baldy? I don’t care what Peter says, I’ll bust up every piece of furniture in this room right over your head.”

“Oh that’s enough now!” Gamora scolded the both of them. She knew Rocket’s threats were empty but she grew tired of their bantering. “I’ll vent you both if you don’t behave.”

Gwen returned with the phone in hand. She set it down on the table and sat back down on the couch next to Groot. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yeah, open up that box and pull the encryptor out. I need all the loose wires removed off of it.” He tossed her a screw driver. “Open up the housing. The wires should all be connected with screws. Loosen them, pull the wires out and then we can reconnect it with the comm.”

“You got it.” She smiled at Rocket. She was glad to finally have something to do. One of her favorite things to do, when she stayed with Peter before, was helping Rocket. She liked working with her hands. It was not something she got to do much of back on Earth. Her old job was in sales. Making deals, reading people… she was good at it, but it didn’t give her the same satisfaction as working with something tangible.

With the three of them working together, they completed the upgrade to the comm system in just over an hour. They hooked it back up and tested it. It worked perfectly, but they wouldn’t know if their conversations would actually be encrypted or not. They would just have to wait and see.

It didn’t take nearly as long for Rocket to adapt a makeshift charger out of the leftover wires and hook it into the comm system. She wouldn’t be able to use her phone while it was charging, but she could be patient. She thanked Rocket again, this time _without_ the hug.

After the comm had been fixed, and while the phone was charging, everyone sat down to dinner. Peter had generously made the meal for them since everyone was busy with other tasks. Gwen had to admit, he was a pretty good cook. Yondu had once mentioned teaching him how to cook, but from Gwen’s personal experience, Yondu was not as good in the kitchen as Peter was.

 

When everyone had finished, Gwen got up to help Gamora with the dishes. It was almost time for lights out and everyone else was heading to their rooms to unwind. Gwen didn’t want to be alone in her room, so she was glad for more busywork.

“So what’s it like?” Gamora asked Gwen when they were finally alone.

“What’s what like?” Gwen looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Gamora rolled her eyes, “Being married, silly.”

“Oh,” Gwen chuckled, “I dunno. Doesn’t seem really different to me. I mean, we only got to spend a few married weeks together before I left, but we didn’t really act any differently towards each other.”

“Well, he seems to really enjoy using the ‘wife’ word.” Gamora teased.

“What?!” Gwen turned to her, shocked. “He does not?”

Gamora laughed, “Oh yeah, he says it quite often when you’re not around.”

“Oh my gosh,” Gwen’s face turned pink.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Gamora nudged Gwen’s arm, “he admires you. The fact that you’re his wife is a sense of pride for him.”

Gwen thought for a moment. She had to admit, calling Yondu her husband had the same effect on her. Though she mostly only said it in her head. “I guess that’s true. I never really thought about it that way. It is nice to know that he’s all mine and I get to keep him.” Gwen giggled. “Yondu is my _husband_.” She played with the word in her mouth.

Gamora nodded confidently, “That’s right!”

“ _My_ husband.” Gwen pointed to herself with her hand covered in bubbles, “Nacho husband… _my_ husband.”

Both of the girls laughed as they played with the bubbles in the sink.

Peter walked into the room, eyeing the girls warily, “What in the sam hell is goin’ on in here?”

“Nacho husband!” Both of the girls said in unison, and then they both laughed again.

Peter put his hands up, “Ya’ll are crazy, I’m out!” and he turned around and walked back out of the room.

Their giggles died down and they were both quiet once more.

Gwen looked over at Gamora, “You still dealing with those trust issues?”

Gamora sighed, “I’m getting better.”

“Peter still being patient?”

“Peter is a saint.” Gamora scoffed.

“That might be a stretch.” Gwen snickered.

“Well, with me he is, anyway. I’m sure we’ll get there eventually. We’re just taking a much longer path.”

“Can I give you some advice?” Gwen asked honestly.

“Okay.” Gamora answered hesitantly.

“This whole Kree/Xandar incident, and being sent away, made me realize how much I should embrace, and appreciate what I have now. You never know when it could all be ripped away from you." 

Gamora let out a heavy sigh and gave Gwen a solemn smile, “I know.”

 

The girls finished the dishes and headed off to bed. Gwen stood in her room, looking around. It was too quiet, too dark, and too lonely. She could feel the ache in her chest return. She remembered the bottle of Curati in the desk and pulled it out. She sat at the table, poured herself a shot and stared at it for a long time. She remembered the toast Yondu gave the very first night they made love.

_To us… to discovering new possibilities and hopefully, a few grand adventures along the way._

A tear ran down Gwen’s cheek as she tipped the glass back and let the sweet floral liquid burn through her. She waited for the fire to pass, staring at the bottle. She very much wanted to take another shot, and then another and another. But she didn’t. She corked the bottle and wrapped it back up in the towel and placed it back in the desk. She sniffled and wiped the tears from her face. She changed into her pajamas and brushed her hair out. She brushed her teeth and then climbed into bed. And it was then that she realized why Yondu told her to have a drink every night. By the time her head hit the pillow, she was warm and relaxed. She clutched Yondu’s pillow and dreamt of her favorite memories with him until she finally floated away into unconsciousness.


	4. Getting Back Into The Groove

Gwen awoke the next morning and dressed in her old jogging outfit that she wore the first time she left Earth. She noticed that the pants were baggier than she remembered. Had she lost weight? She hadn’t even noticed. She guessed it must have been all the exercise she got from training with Yondu and Rocket. She brushed her teeth and braided her hair again; a much cleaner braid this time, since she had a brush handy, and headed out to the kitchen for breakfast.

She was the only one up and didn’t want to wake anyone with noisy cooking, so she just grabbed a roll out of the cupboard and covered it in jam and butter. She frowned realizing that she was really going to miss cereal. She grabbed her cell phone, now fully charged, and gingerly disconnected it from the makeshift charger. She sat down at the table and began flipping through her old pictures. Realizing how few there were, she turned the camera on and took a selfie, making sure to smile even though she thought it ridiculous. She took a few more, making silly faces into the camera.

Peter walked in and caught her with her tongue sticking out, “Okay, I am now _convinced_ you have lost your damn mind, girl. What _are_ you doing?”

Gwen chuckled, “Taking selfies. C’mere, I wanna get one with you too!”

“What the hell is a selfie?” Peter asked as he walked over and looked over her shoulder. “That’s a camera?!” He waved at himself in the screen.

“Yeah, here, say cheese!” They both smiled into the camera and Gwen snapped the picture.

“That is so cool!” He touched the screen, flipping through her funny faced pictures.

Gwen chuckled again. “I wanna document everything. I hated being back on Earth with no pictures of you guys. It never even occurred to me to use it before. I wanna get a group photo later too.”

“Well, I haven’t checked the autopilot yet but we should be nearing Boson in a couple hours.” Peter pulled some sliced meat out of the fridge. He slapped it on his roll and took a hefty bite. “You soood ged one ob all ob us on da pwanet.”

Gwen chuckled “Take another bite, there, Star Lord, I didn’t quite catch all that the first time.”

Peter made a face at her and continued eating as he headed to the cockpit.

Gwen stood up to follow him, but Gamora walked into the room. “Hey! Come here! I wanna get a picture with you.” She walked over and wrapped her arm around Gamora, who was staring at her in confusion as she held the camera up. “Just smile Gamora, it’s not gonna steal your soul or anything.” Gamora looked back and forth between Gwen and the camera and then forced a smile over her confused expression. The resulting picture was comical. “I wanna get another one of everybody later so don’t go running off.” Gwen headed up to the cockpit with Peter. Gamora just shook her head and grinned.

Peter was already busy checking the computer when Gwen reached him. “We should be landing in about two and a half hours.” He spun around in his chair to face her. “So whatcha wanna do until then?”

Gwen looked up thoughtfully, “Hmmm… You got a deck of Bankjo cards?” She asked with a smirk.

“No way.” Peter gawked in disbelief, “They taught you how to play Bankjo?”

Gwen nodded, “They sure did. I love it. I _suck_ … but I love it.”

 

Peter and Gwen played three rounds of cards in the common room waiting to reach the planet. As the crew meandered out from their quarters, Gwen made sure to snap a photo with each one. She was sure Rocket was going to rip her head off, but she chanced it anyway. She got a few good ones with Groot. She discovered he loved taking pictures. She teased him that he was a natural in front of the camera. Now she just waited to get the group photo on Boson.

Gwen was dealing the third round when she started asking Peter about Boson. “So what’s this planet like?”

Peter picked up his cards and started sorting them, “Eh, kinda desertish, kinda cold. It’s not as nice as the higher class planets, but it isn’t the bottom rung either.”

“You think we’ll get some good jobs while we’re here?” She set out her first hand, waiting for Peter to make his move.

“Yeah I think so. Maybe not as many as we’d like, seein’ as we can’t really travel very far, but the local jobs should be plenty.” Peter played his hand.

Gwen frowned, “I feel like I’m holding you guys back.”

Peter scoffed, “Don’t. We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t want to. You’re one of us, Gwen. We take care of our own.”

Gwen forced a fake smile, so Peter decided to throw in a jab, “Unless you’re talkin’ about that hand, because good lord that stinks! You were right, you do suck!”

Gwen laughed and punched Peter’s shoulder. She smiled again. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He gave her a wink.

Drax walked into the room, “Peter, Boson is in sight.”

Peter nodded, “Thanks man.”

Drax nodded back and returned to the cockpit.

Peter stood up and threw down his cards, “Welp, you already know who won this round. I gotta go land this bird.” He walked off to follow Drax.

“Next time, little brother.” Gwen teased.

“You’re shorter!” He called after her.

“You’re _still_ younger!” She yelled back.

 

As the group headed off the ship, the first thing Gwen noticed was the terrain. Peter was right, the planet was very desert-like; and a bit chilly, she realized, as she held her arms to hold back a shiver. They had actually landed at a dock, which Gwen wasn’t expecting, so there were a lot of people hustling about around them.

“C’mon,” Gamora said as she put her hand on Gwen’s shoulder, “let’s go get you that uniform before your teeth start chattering.”

“Wait!” Gwen stopped her, “I want to get a picture of everyone before go!” They all gathered and stood in front of the Milano and Gwen tried to stretch her arm out far enough to get a good picture but she couldn’t quite reach. Groot took the camera from her hand and stretched his arm out another few feet to fit everyone in. Everyone laughed and Groot snapped the photo. “Thanks Groot!” Gwen hugged Groot, and he smiled and handed the camera back.

Peter turned to address everyone. He pointed at the girls, “Okay so you two are going shopping, and the guys and I are gonna go talk to Ronack and see what kind of jobs we can scrounge up. Gamora said you guys were coming back here to spar afterwards?”

“Yeah, I need to get some practice in.” Gwen rubbed her arms as she spoke.

“Okay, how about we all meet up at the Gorram diner at five for grub? That should give you guys plenty of time.”

“Sounds good,” Gamora nodded. She wrapped her arms around Peter’s waist and gave him a long kiss before they split up.

“Wow,” Gwen said, surprised, after the guys were out of earshot. “In front of everyone even?”

“Well, it’s like you said, appreciate what you’ve got before it’s gone.” Gamora smiled.

 

“I don’t like this one.” Gwen frowned as she looked at herself in the mirror. “The top doesn’t fit right.”

Gamora smooshed her face in frustration, “And the last one wasn’t the right color, and the one before that was too baggy. Gwen, you’re going to have to pick something. You’re not going to find the exact same outfit as your last one.”

Gwen sulked, “I know. I’m just still furious at my mother for throwing it out. I _loved_ that jacket.” She whined.

“Why did she do that, anyway?”

“She was trying to force me to move on. I guess she figured if I didn’t have anything left to remind me of the last six months, I would just magically forget and start a new chapter.”

“How horrible.” Gamora wrinkled her nose.

Gwen took the jacket off and set it on the chair next to Gamora. She picked up another top and headed back into the changing room. “She even confessed to me once that if she could have taken my ring, she would have.”

“No?!”

“Oh yeah. It’s a good thing it’s a snug fit. She may be my mother, but I would have seriously considered her being my second victim!”

Gwen walked out and looked at herself in the mirror again, adjusting the top. “Wow!” She looked at herself in shock. The top was nice, but it was lower cut than what she was used to.

Gamora whistled, “That one _really_ shows off the girls.”

“Not very practical though.” Gwen contemplated.

“But you can always zip up the jacket, which you usually do anyway.”

“That’s true.” Gwen turned from side to side, looking at the back. The whole set was all the same dyed leather. A mixture of the red and brown from her old uniform, giving it an overall rust color. She also picked out a new holster and a new pair of boots, both a bit more brown than red. “Okay, I think this’ll do.” She nodded confidently.

“Great! Let’s pay and get out of here.” Gamora stood up and headed to the counter.

“Thanks again for buying me, yet, another uniform.”

“Oh it’s nothing.” Gamora waved her off as she handed the clear plastic card to the trader.

“No, I mean it. You guys do way too much for me. I wish I could pay you back.”

Gamora gave Gwen a guilty look. “I’m sorry. I can’t lie to you. I’m not paying for your uniform.”

“Huh? Then who is?”

She gave Gwen an awkward smile, “You are.”

“Excuse me?” her face was full of shock, “How is that possible?”

The trader gave the card back to Gamora and she handed it to Gwen. It contained a holographic picture of Yondu on it with both of their names on the card. “Yondu gave me this before the meeting.”

Gwen shook her head, still confused, “This is Yondu’s money, not mine.”

“He said it was yours. Apparently he set up and account for you after you started doing consult work for him. He told me not to tell you. Something about you refusing to take the money.”

Gwen snorted, “That sneaky bastard. How much is on it?”

“Fifty thousand units, minus the three hundred we just spent. More than enough to get you through the month, but he said it’s only a small chunk of what’s in your account.”

“That man is always full of surprises.” Gwen put the card in her pocket and they headed back to the ship.

 

The girls sparred for about three hours. Gwen enjoyed fighting with Gamora. She was fast on her feet and very agile. She was used to fighting with Yondu who used his brute strength over speed. He didn’t need to be quick. That’s what his arrow was for. But Gamora was giving her a chance to learn new techniques. Rocket also used speed, but he also jumped and flipped around a lot, something most humanoids could not do. Gamora taught her how to jump and roll to duck out of an attack, and how to throw her dagger, or aim her weapon accurately, after coming out of a roll. Gwen learned a lot in those few hours.

“That was fun!” Gwen panted and then took a drink of water.

“You have a strange definition of fun.” Gamora teased. “Let’s go get cleaned up and meet the boys for dinner.”

Gamora showered and dressed back into her new uniform. The cold weather made her glad for the jacket. She braided her hair again and looked at herself in the mirror. She noticed the sunken eyes and lines around her mouth that she hadn’t seen before. The stress of everything that had occurred since killing the Kree soldier had taken a severe toll on her, both physically and mentally. At least now she could smile again.

 

The girls met the guys at the diner. They had already started on a fresh plate of, well, Gwen wasn’t sure what, but something fried. They sat down in the booth and Gwen picked up one of the fried red sticks in the basket, sniffing it cautiously. “What’s this?”

“Fried trellis,” Peter picked up another one and popped it in his mouth. “They’re kinda like worms but they taste like French fries. They’re pretty good.”

They were still hot, Gwen popped the trellis in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. She made a funny face and swallowed. “I think you’ve forgotten what French fries taste like.” She laughed. “They’re not bad, but they’re not fries either.”

Drax popped one in his mouth, “I think these tiny bugs are delightful.” He called the waitress over. “Miss, another basket, please?”

The crew enjoyed their dinner while they chatted and teased each other. Gwen had had more fun in the past two days than she had in the past two months. She had been laughing so hard that her cheeks hurt. Listening to Rocket and Drax banter back and forth, watching Groot with his silly innocence, and Gamora teasing Peter was always entertaining. She still wished Yondu could be there with them, but was glad to be spending quality time with her new family.

They were in the middle of teasing Rocket when a snout nosed green man from the group at the next booth yelled over to them, “Hey! Ya’ll mind shuttin’ the hell up? We’re tryin’ to eat and you’re foul breath is killin’ our appetite!”

Peter scowled, “Oh? You’re hungry? Well then why don’t you bite me, Porky!”

“Peter!” Gamora chided.

The four men stood up and walked over to their table. A tall, skinny green man challenged Peter, “You wanna take this outside, paleface?”

Rocket jumped in next, “We ain’t taken anything anywhere. We’re perfectly fine where we’re at.”

“Wasn’t talkin’ to you, rat. Keep your muzzle shut!”

Drax, who had been sitting on the end, stood up defensively, “You cannot speak to my friends this way.”

“Sit down, ugly!” The snout nosed man tried to push Drax back into his seat, but Drax grabbed his wrist, twisted it and threw the man to the ground.

“You piece of shit!” the skinny man tried to go after Drax next, but Rocket jumped on his head, pulling on his nostrils and riding him around the room like a bull. The man fell into another patron’s table and splattered food everywhere.

Another brutish man went after Gwen next. He tried grabbing her to throw her out of the booth, but she quickly grabbed his wrists and slid sideways, slamming her heal right into his crotch.

Peter jumped up and over the table and went after the fourth guy, as ‘Porky’ picked himself back up and tried to go after Drax again.

Groot grabbed the guy by his throat and threw him across the diner. “I am Groot!” He shouted.

Drax patted Groot on the back, “Thank you, my woodland friend.”

By this time, they were in an all-out brawl. Gwen’s adrenaline was pumping. She was throwing punches and swinging kicks left and right. One guy managed to slam her face into a table, but she cracked him in the nose with her elbow, in return. She had grabbed another guy by his collar and was about to land a swinging fist into his jaw when a loud bang caught everyone’s attention.

There stood the chef; a tall, burly fellow with a long trunk of a nose. He had a large blaster rifle in his hands. “Get outta my diner! All of you!”

Everyone stopped and let go of each other. The four jerks backed away slowly. They gave the chef a few rude hand gestures and stormed out of the diner.

Gwen immediately felt guilty for the mess they had made. Peter and Rocket were about to walk out too, but stopped when they saw Gwen picking up a chair off the floor. “What are you doin?” Peter whispered to her. “The man with the big gun told us to leave!”

“I’m cleaning up my mess.” She said sternly as she collected the scattered trellis fries from the floor into a basket. “I’ll meet you guys outside.”

The gang all looked at each other. Peter huffed and grabbed a plate and napkin off of the floor. Rocket rolled his eyes in frustration. “Why do we always gotta be the good guys?” He whined. He started picking up utensils from under the tables. Groot and Drax cleaned off the table that they had been sitting at and put the dishes into a bus bin. The chef, still rightly irritated, stood with his arms folded watching the spectacle. The rest of the patrons simply stared dumbfounded.

After they cleaned up as much as they could, they walked out slowly. “Terribly sorry about that, sir.” Gwen lowered her head as she walked by the chef. Peter pulled a stack of cash out of his jacket pocket and set it on the table. He held his hands up at the patrons, “Sorry for the interruption. Enjoy the rest of your meal and don’t forget to tip your waitress.”

 

They all stepped out into the cool night air and started out towards the ship in silence. As they walked, they all looked around at each other, still covered in food with black eyes and busted lips. Gwen looked over at Rocket who had some sort of orange sauce hanging off the whiskers on the right side of his face.

“What?” Rocket asked, confused by her expression.

Gwen couldn’t hold it in any longer. She busted up with laughter and everyone else joined in.

“What a sight we must be!” Drax laughed.

“You guys just can’t ever behave yourselves, can you?” Gamora taunted with a snicker.

“They started it!” Peter choked out another laugh.

“I am Groot!”

“That’s right! It was our job to end it!” Rocket finished.

They all laughed and pulled food off of themselves, joking and punching each other’s shoulders until they reached the ship. Gwen went to her room and cleaned herself up as best she could. She was going to have a pretty good shiner by morning. But she didn’t care; she had had fun. She let out a hard sigh and looked over at the desk drawer. She felt that all too familiar ache in her chest. But this time she smiled. She couldn’t wait to tell Yondu all about her first fight with the crew. She sat down at the table and pulled the bottle and shot glass out of the desk. She poured a glass and once again, sat staring at it for a long while before taking a drink. She used the time to remind herself of his smile, his gravely laugh, the bright blue of his skin, even the intricate designs on his fin. She tossed the shot back and reveled in the burn as it went down. She got undressed and got ready for bed. She pulled her phone out and went through all of the pictures she had taken throughout the day. Some of them made her smile and some of them made her laugh. She couldn’t wait to take more. She started fading before she knew it. She set her phone down and snuggled into Yondu’s pillow and fell fast asleep.


	5. Well, The Good News Is...

Five days had passed since Yondu put Gwen on the Milano and sent her off with Peter. As much as he hated being away from her, he slept better knowing she was okay; she was being taken care of and, if necessary, he could go to her. He was able to focus on tasks more easily and even took a transport job for a local mining supply dealer. All of his jobs had been halted while he and Peter went after Gwen. But now, things on the ship were finally starting to return to normal.

Yondu was in his quarters going over invoices at his desk when he got a call from Nova Corps. It was a call Yondu was expecting, just not so soon. He took a deep breath and tapped the ‘accept’ button on the screen. It was Nova Prime, herself, once again.

“Captain Udonta.” She said with a bit of annoyance.

“Nova Prime. Whadda you want?” Yondu tried to sound disinterested in what she had to say, though he knew exactly what the conversation would be about.

She got right down to business, “Our sources notified us that Guinevere Udonta might have recently left Terra.”

“That so?” Yondu replied with a puzzled look.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Not a damn thing.” He sneered.

“I find that hard to believe.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“You can come search my ship if you want. You won’t find her here.” He tried to sound disinterested again.

“Oh we know. Peter Quill and the crew of the Milano were recently seen in the Boson territory with a sixth crew member; a female matching your wife’s description. Apparently they were involved in a scuffle at a local diner.”

“Sorry, don’t know nuthin’ about it.” Which was true. He still hadn’t spoken to them yet, though the thought of his Gwen getting into a fight tickled him a bit. He tried to keep a poker face, but couldn’t help letting a smirk briefly slip across his face.

She continued, either unaware or uninterested in his amusement, “What we can’t seem to figure out, though, is why she would be wondering about with your old Ravager prodigy.”

Yondu shrugged, “They’re both Terran. They’re close, like kin.”

Nova Prime got to the meat of the conversation, “So you’re saying there’s a possibility that _he_ took her from Terra?”

Yondu stared her down through the monitor, “Look, let’s just say, hypothetically, if Peter had rescued Gwen from Terra, he likely did it cause he cares about her. She hated goin' back. And if I hadn’t promised her that I wouldn’t go against your wishes, I woulda gone down there by myself and gotten her.”

Nova Prime sat quietly for a long time before speaking again. She took a deep breath and folded her hands on her desk. “Captain Udonta, are you asking me to drop this?”

Yondu wasn’t expecting the conversation to take the turn it had. She was giving him an out, and Yondu could either continue playing dumb, or he could be honest with her and hope she wouldn’t use it against him. This was not the time for prideful posturing. “Nova Prime, I’m _beggin'_ you to drop it. Please, just leave her be.”

Nova Prime pursed her lips and sighed. “Alright. Consider the matter dropped. However, understand that our official position is that we are unaware of Guinevere Udonta’s current whereabouts. And if the Kree has an issue with that, we will direct them to take the matter directly to you. We are no longer involved. That also means that if they come after you, we cannot come to your aid. Do you understand?”

Yondu felt a huge weight lift from his chest. He took a deep breath and sat back in his chair. “Yes ma’am. Thank you, Nova Prime.”

“You’re welcome. Oh, and Captain… If you ever tell me to go fuck myself again, I will sign your prison sentence myself.” She warned him.

Yondu chuckled and nodded, “Yes, ma’am.”

Yondu disconnected and immediately put in a call to the Milano.

Peter answered. “Hey, you’re callin’ early. What’s going on?” he seemed concerned.

“Get Gwen, I need to talk to both of you.” His voice was urgent, which Peter translated as bad news. Peter called for someone to get Gwen quickly.

It only took seconds for Gwen’s face to pop into view. “Hey, what’s wrong?” They both sat eagerly waiting for Yondu to speak.

Yondu smiled, “Just got off the phone with Nova Prime. Bring my girl home, Peter. It’s over.”

Gwen gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Peter’s eyes went wide, “No shit?! Already?” he asked with surprise.

Yondu nodded, “She pretty much said they’re washing their hands of the whole thing. They won’t bother us anymore.”

Gwen broke down in tears and Peter hugged her tight. Yondu felt an ache in his chest, wishing he could have been the one to hug her. But he reminded himself that she would be home soon and he could hug her all he wanted then. “Get her off that rock, Quill. I’m sendin' you our coordinates now. I’ll be expectin’ you guys in twenty four hours.”

“You got it.” Peter nodded to Yondu and hung up.

 

Yondu and Kraglin met the Milano at the docks when it arrived. Rocket opened the bay doors and Gwen flew into Yondu’s arms. “Howdy stranger.” She pulled away to look at him, “Did you miss me?”

“Maybe just a little bit.” He teased, using her own words. He turned to address Peter, who had followed her off the ship. “Ya’ll are welcome to stay for a bit. We’re headed to Knowhere to drop off some mining supplies.

“Um… I think we’re going to head out then. I’m pretty sure Tivan wouldn’t exactly be excited to see us again.” Peter replied.

Gwen turned and hugged Peter, “Thank you guys, again, for everything.”

“Anything for my little sis.” Peter squeezed Gwen in a bear hug. She grabbed her stuff and said her goodbyes to the Milano crew once more before they took off.

 

Gwen was putting her stuff away when she turned to ask Yondu about his conversation with Nova Prime. “So what happened? What made her change her mind?”

Yondu was sitting at the foot of the bed, busy flipping through Gwen’s pictures on her camera when he answered. "Don't know. Maybe she just got tired of dealin' with it.” He scoffed, “Especially after realizing there was no way to make sure you stayed put on Terra.”

Gwen chuckled, “Well, whatever it was, I’m glad it’s finally over.” She turned around and walked over to Yondu, standing in between his legs.

Yondu put the phone down and took her hands, “Well, technically it’s not _over,_ over.” This was the part of the bargain he didn’t want to tell her about, but knew it would eventually come up.

“What do you mean?” She gave him a suspicious look.

“Nova Prime only said they were gonna stay out of it. The Kree could still come after us, if they found out you were back. They’re just not going to tell them that they know you’re back and they’re not gonna try to police the situation.”

“Well that’s good, right?”

“For the most part. But on the flip side, if the Kree comes after us, they won’t send help. We’re essentially on our own.”

“But you have an army.” Gwen defended.

“The Kree has multiple armies. If they really wanted to wipe us out, they could.” Yondu warned. He saw fear wash over her face. He squeezed her hands, “Don’t be too worried though. We could still take out one of their ships before that. It really comes down to how much damage they’re willing to take just to avenge the death of one soldier. One they probably didn’t even care about in the first place. They may be assholes, but they ain't stupid.”

Gwen nodded. “Okay then. So we just go on and forget they exist?”

“Well, we’ll just keep away from Kree territory for now. But other than that, yeah.”

Gwen forced a smile. “Alright then. Consider it forgotten.” She leaned in and kissed Yondu. She walked back to the armoire to put her holster away.

Yondu smirked, picking up the phone again and fiddling with it in his hands. “Nova Prime also happened to mention ya’ll were in a tussle at a diner.”

“What?” Gwen yelled back from the closet, surprised. “How did she know that?”

“I don’t know. Apparently she’s got spies everywhere.” Yondu chuckled. “So how’d you do? Looks like that shiner next to your eye is almost gone.”

Gwen reached up reflexively to touch the faded bruise on her cheek. Her face turned pink, “You saw that, huh? The bastard slammed my head into a table.”

“You return the favor?”

Gwen chuckled, “Oh yeah, got an elbow to the nose. Pretty sure I heard it crack, too.”

Yondu grinned, “That’s my girl.” He went back to shuffling through the phone. “What’s with all these pictures? You takin’ up photography now?”

Gwen hurried over and sat down next to Yondu. She took the phone and swiped through the pictures. “No. I’m recording memories.”

“Memories?” Yondu was intrigued.

“Yeah,” Gwen tilted her head thoughtfully, “when I was back on Earth, I had no pictures of anyone, of any _thing_. I was angry at myself that I hadn’t made it a priority. Maybe if I had had proof that you all existed, my mother wouldn’t have thought I was insane.”

“I doubt a picture would have convinced her.” Yondu grumbled.

“You’re probably right. Even still, I was afraid my memories would fade and I wouldn’t be able to remember your face. I wondered how long it would take my own mind to believe I had made it all up.”

Yondu wrapped his arm around Gwen and kissed her head. “So how does that thing work, anyway?”

Gwen opened up the camera app and turned the screen sideways. Yondu looked at Gwen and himself curiously in the screen. “Say cheese!” Gwen said, smiling widely.

“Say what?” Yondu had turned to her with a peculiar expression just as the camera snapped the picture, resulting in another comical photo.


	6. Knowhere In Particular

The Eclector arrived at Knowhere the next day. Gwen stood staring at the sight from the cockpit, wide eyed and astounded. “What _is_ that?” She asked Yondu, who was seated at the helm next to her.

“ _That_ is Knowhere. It ain't a planet. It’s the corpse head of an old celestial.”

“A what?” Gwen could just make out the skull shape of the large spherical object through the mess of buildings, lights and machinery.

“A celestial. A giant, god-like creature. They usually live for millions of years. Nobody knows how this one died, but people have been mining it for decades.”

“Mining it for what?”

“Everything. Brain, eyes, spinal fluid, whatever they can. It all goes for a high price on the black market.”

Gwen continued staring, bewildered, “That is… creeptastic.” She finally turned to Yondu with another question. “So who is this… Tayvin, or Tavin person that Peter was talking about?”

“Tivan? Nobody. He’s just a collector out here.”

“So why is he so afraid of him.” She asked curiously.

Yondu chuckled, “He ain't afraid of him. He just doesn't wanna deal with him. A few years ago, Peter sort of, backed out of a deal they'd made after an explosion destroyed his shop.”

Gwen nodded with understanding, “Ah, got it.”

 

The Eclector stopped. Gwen, Yondu and a few of his men went to the docks to board an M-class. The crew had loaded about 5 of the ships with the mining supplies and headed down into Knowhere.

“Thank you for letting me come with.” Gwen said with a smile.

Yondu looked over at her, rolled his eyes and smirked. “Can’t exactly keep you cooped up on that ship forever. Plus you might be helpful dealin' with Burk. He has a habit of tryin' to renegotiate.”

Yondu, Kraglin, Tullk and Gwen went to visit Burk at his office before unloading the cargo.

“Yondu Udonta!” A short, fat man with missing teeth smiled at Yondu from his desk.

“Burk.” Yondu replied with a less than pleasant tone.

Burk rose and came around the desk to shake Yondu’s hand. “Where are the crates? I ordered fifteen of them. Are they here?”

“They’re here.” He looked down at his palm in disgust and wiped it on his pants. “We just want to make sure we’re solid on the price before we hand 'em over.”

“Of course, of course! Let’s see…” he walked over to the desk and started shuffling through papers “… that was three hundred thousand units, right?” He looked up at Yondu cautiously.

Yondu sneered. “It was five hundred and you know it.”

Burk let out a jovial laugh that showed off the gaps in his teeth far too well, “Come now, Yondu, we both know five hundred for a measly fifteen crates is outlandish.”

Yondu was about to argue but was stopped quick when Gwen spoke up. “Five hundred was the original price. You give us five hundred, right now, or we part everything off to your competitors and walk away easily with seven fifty.”

“Excuse me dear?” The short man addressed Gwen.

Yondu grinned at his wife proudly and nodded for her to continue.

“You heard me. This place is packed wall to wall with miners that, I’d bet, are looking to upgrade their equipment for a good price. You’re already getting a deal for buying in bulk. It would be nothing for us to stand outside of your office and sell off each piece of your stock, one by one, and walk away making far more than we have already offered you. So which would you rather have? Fifteen crates of brand new tools, or _all_ of your competitors stocked well enough to run you out of business?”

Tullk stared at Gwen, bewildered. He had never heard Gwen speak more than a few words at a time, and he had never seen her so confident. He only ever saw her as the Captain’s quiet, mild mannered female companion. He looked over at Yondu’s proud expression and realized he had gotten them both all wrong. He was rather impressed with the woman.

Burk’s happy expression quickly faded from his face, replaced with a disgruntled frown. He grumbled something unintelligible and waddled back to his desk. He punched something into a tablet and then handed a unit card to Yondu. “Fine, five hundred it is. Now, bring me my crates.”

Gwen smiled at the little man, “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Burk.”

Yondu chuckled as he and his crew walked out of the office. He ordered his grunt workers to unload the crates and deliver them to Burk’s office. He turned to Gwen and pulled her in for a lustful kiss, holding the back of her neck with one hand, and her ass with the other. Tullk and the grunts all stared in shock at the Captain’s display of affection toward his wife. Kraglin, of course, knew better than to be surprised. After Tullk regained himself, he scolded the grunts and ordered them back to work.

Yondu pulled away and grinned. “I knew there was a reason I kept you around.” He teased.

Gwen laughed. “Oh come on now, you would have taken care of him real quick if he hadn’t have paid up.”

“Yeah but you made it a lot less messy.”

“So what are we gonna do now? Do we have to head back to the ship, or can we hang out until the men are done?” Gwen was anxious to look around and see what this Knowhere place was all about.

Yondu looked around, “There’s a casino around here somewhere. Let’s go have some fun.”

The four of them wondered off into the city. They quickly found the casino. Gwen grinned ear to ear watching the lively patrons making bets and playing hands. She was about to ask what the deal was with the painted rats, when she heard someone walk up behind them.

“Well, well, well. Look at this. Captain Udonta has caught himself another Terran.”

Gwen whipped round to see a very tall man wearing a fur coat smiling down at her. His hair was all white and he looked to be wearing mascara.

Gwen looked him up and down and swallowed hard. “How did you know I was Terran?”

He reached down and took her hand “I have an eye for detail, and beauty, my dear.” He kissed the back of her hand.

Yondu put his arm around Gwen protectively, “Gwen, this is Taneleer Tivan, The Collector. Tivan, this is my _wife_ , Guinevere.”

“Your wife?” Tivan was both shocked and disappointed as he looked Gwen up and down, “What a shame. What beautiful and rare offspring you and Peter would have made.”

Gwen wrinkled her nose at Tivan. “There are about three hundred thousand Terran babies born every day. We’re not exactly _rare_.”

Tivan sighed, “Still, a shame to waste trying to mix your remarkable genetic code with a Centaurian.”

Gwen’s face contorted with anger. She was a lungful of air away from giving The Collector a piece of her mind when Yondu interrupted.

“What you want, Tivan?” Yondu huffed with irritation.

“I heard a rumor you were here so I came to look for you. I have something you might want to see. Follow me, if you would be so kind?”

Yondu nodded, and then turned to whisper something to Tullk. Tullk nodded and turned to relay the message to Kraglin as Yondu and Gwen walked off to follow Tivan.

Tivan lead them through the city, babbling the entire way. “It was an unfortunate incident, what happened with Peter. When my servant grabbed the infinity stone, she blew like a time bomb…”

Gwen looked at Yondu with shock and mouthed the words “infinity stone” at him inquisitively. Yondu just shook his head and held his finger up to his mouth for her to keep quiet.

“… Quite a large percentage of my collection was destroyed. I’ve had to replace almost everything in the front of the shop.” He turned back around to eye Yondu “Though as you know, many were very rare pieces, unable to be replaced.” He turned a corner and stopped at a door. “Here we are.” He held the door open for them to go in.

Gwen and Yondu walked into the low lit room. She was instantly stunned by what she saw. All around the room were large glass cases, though prison cells would have been a more appropriate term. Lit glass cases on pedestals, some hung from the walls and some from the ceiling. Each case housed a different item. Some were artifacts, mummified remains of creatures long since expired, pieces of artwork or types of plants, but many of the cases held live creatures. On one pedestal was a small, scaly creature that looked similar to a lizard, another looked like a green slimy pile of goo. Yet another held a humanoid female, pink skin with pink pigtails. Her eyes were glazed over with defeat. Gwen’s heart broke for every creature in the room, especially the girl. They walked further along until Gwen froze next to a medium sized, furry brown creature.

“Oh my god.” Gwen gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Yondu looked down at the case.

Gwen pointed in disbelief. “That’s a _dog_! Where did you get him?” She bent down, eye level with the short haired, floppy eared mutt. The puppy began wagging it’s tail fitfully and licking the glass in front of Gwen’s face. She held her hand up and he tried to lick that too.

Tivan watched curiously as the canine and the Terran communicated. “He was found near a Terran ship wreckage. This is amazing. I have never seen him react in such a manner.”

Gwen raised an eyebrow to Tivan. “If you let him out, you’ll see a lot more interesting behavior. Please?”

Tivan thought for a moment and then walked behind the case, unlocking the door. The dog jumped down and ran to Gwen. He lowered himself to the ground, his tail shaking so fast, his butt wiggled back and forth and he cried happily.

“Hey boy! Hey buddy!” Gwen rubbed his head and fluffed his ears, she scratched his back and when he fell over, she rubbed his belly. He jumped back up and licked her face. Gwen laughed and ducked her head into her chest. “Yes, you’re a good boy, aren’t you?” The dog snuggled into her and fell over again.

“This is astounding.” Tivan watched in amazement at the reaction the Terran had on his creature.

Yondu’s face was more a mix of confusion and curiosity, “Should I be jealous, here?”

Gwen smiled. “You’d be surprised at how well creatures respond to kindness, Tivan.” She continued petting the puppy, who was lying on his back, his mouth wide open, panting with his tongue sticking out sideways. “Especially dogs. You treat them right, they’ll be loyal to a fault. They will protect you, love you, and take care of you just as much as you take care of them. They’re also very empathic. They can tell when you’re happy, sad, or angry.” She stood up and looked him directly in the eyes. “Dogs, as I’m sure many of these other creatures, were not meant to be stared at through glass.”

Tivan raised an eyebrow at the puppy. He bent down cautiously and held his hand out the same way Gwen had. The puppy slowly crawled over to Tivan and began licking his hand. He chuckled, “That is a strange feeling.” He petted the dog’s head and ran his fingers over his ears, “I had no idea he was so soft.”

Tivan stood back up and appraised the dog, “Well, I guess he can stay out of the cage for now. We’ll see how he does. Anyway, shall we?” He turned and continued on down the hall to the back of the shop.

Gwen and Yondu followed him through a door into a back room. Tivan stopped on the back side of a desk and turned to face them both. He turned on a lamp on the otherwise empty desk and smiled. “I came across this artifact and have been keeping it tucked away for a time such as this. I wanted to give you the opportunity to purchase it, if you’d like.”

“Well what the hell is it? We ain’t got all day.” Yondu was getting annoyed with Tivan’s over dramatic behavior.

Tivan reached underneath the desk and pulled out a long, thin glass case. He set it on the desk. Inside was a bright red object. It was long and tall, thin and flesh-like and curved like a hook. Gwen was immediately confused. It looked a hell of a lot like Yondu’s metal fin, only less elaborate, much larger, and made out of skin. She looked over at him to ask him what it was, but she held her tongue when she saw the look of anger and disgust on Yondu’s face. Her eyes went wide and she swallowed hard, waiting for him to respond to Tivan’s offer.

Yondu sneered at the object in the glass case. “What in the hell makes you think I would want _that_?”

Tivan’s expression went from excitement to puzzlement. “It’s your culture. It’s a part of your history. I figured you’d want a piece of your past.”

Yondu looked him coldly in the eyes, “I ain't never been one for sentiment.” He looked back down at the object and huffed. “Thanks for the offer Tivan, but no thanks.” He put his arm around Gwen and nodded to the collector. “We’ll be goin' now.”

Tivan shrugged and put the glass case back under the desk, “Alright then. Your loss is my gain. Do stop back by on your next visit, Captain Udonta. It’s been good to see you again.” He reached to kiss Gwen’s hand again, “And it’s been an absolute pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Udonta.” He cocked half a smile and winked at Gwen, leaving her feeling rightly uncomfortable.

Yondu rushed Gwen out of the shop. They quickly walked past the dog who had fallen asleep on the floor next to his cage. “Take care of that puppy, Tivan!” Gwen called after him. “His name is Buddy!”

Tivan watched as they left. He stopped in front of the dog and looked down at him. “Buddy, huh?” Buddy looked up at Tivan, tilting his head, causing his ears to flop sideways. Tivan bent down to pet Buddy and smiled.

As soon as they stepped outside, Gwen saw both Tullk and Kraglin standing outside the shop. Yondu must have told them to wait for him outside. He raised his hand, gesturing for them to move out. They flanked him on each side and matched his hurried pace as they walked back to the ship.

Now if Gwen had been a stupid girl, any other girl, she would have asked him about the red object right then and there. But she knew better. She kept quiet about it. She kept quiet about everything. She didn’t speak the entire ride home, and they didn’t speak about the incident for the rest of the day. Both Kraglin and Tullk could also tell by the disgruntled look on his face that he would say nothing about what happened inside the Collector’s shop. Whatever that object was, it shook Yondu to the core.

 

The silence between her and Yondu was agonizing. By the time they crawled into bed, Gwen couldn’t take it anymore. She snuggled into Yondu’s chest and listened to his heartbeat. His breathing still hadn’t calmed down. She gently placed her hand over his heart and spoke softly. “You know I have to ask.”

Yondu huffed and massaged his temples, “I wish you wouldn’t.”

Gwen sat up to look at Yondu. “Please.”

Yondu sat up, too, but turned away from her, swinging his legs off the bed. He sat at the edge of the bed with his head down for a long moment.

Gwen put her hand on his shoulder, “Yondu...”

Yondu put his hand up to stop her. He took a deep breath before speaking. Gwen stared at his back adoringly. She ran her hand up and down his soft blue skin, waiting for him to feel comfortable enough to speak. “I was sold to the Kree as a slave when I was a kid…” Gwen froze and for a brief moment. She remembered him mentioning it before, but she'd forgotten since it wasn't something he ever wanted to talk about. He continued. “… Many of us were. Some kids, some men and women.” He touched the metal fin on top of his head. “That… that thing you saw in the case was a fin. A _real_ Centaurian fin. Not this, this is a… an implant, a prosthetic. Those of us that were sold had our fins cut off.” Gwen swallowed hard. She felt her heart crush under the weight of what he had just told her. She waited for him to talk again. “It was an easy way for them to tell the free from the slaves... and for them to mock us. Most of our race was wiped out by the Kree. There ain't many Centaurians left, and even fewer who still have their fins. When I was twenty years old, I was rescued by a Ravager named Stakar Ogord. He gave me my first prosthetic fin.” Yondu chuckled, “It was more of a trim than a fin, though. Wasn’t tall at all, but I could still control my arrow with it. I only got this one a few years back. A prototype made by a friend of mine. After my old one was damaged in a fight, I replaced it with this one.”

Gwen scooted closer to Yondu and rested her head on his back. “I’m so sorry, Yondu. I had no idea.”

Yondu snorted, “Why should you be sorry? You didn’t do it.”

“I’m sorry that it happened.” She turned and kissed his shoulder. She kissed up his neck to his jaw.

He turned to her and grabbed her face with his hand, kissing her hard on the mouth. He pulled away and looked down, resting his forehead against hers. “You still love me after all that?”

Shocked, Gwen pulled away to look at him. She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. “What in the world makes you think that story would make me love you any less?”

“I’m damaged, Gwen. Inside, outside, in the head. Don’t know why anybody would want me.”

Gwen shook her head at her husband and smiled. “You know, on Earth, there’s a culture that, when something is broken, like a cup or saucer or a piece of pottery, they repair it with gold. The repair actually makes it more valuable because of the gold and the fact that it’s now considered a unique piece. There are no two alike.” She put her forehead back to his and held her hand to his face. “You have ribbons of gold all over you, Yondu. You’re priceless.”

Yondu kissed Gwen softly. “I love you,” he whispered.

Gwen chuckled and whispered back, “I know.”


	7. ...And Then There's The Bad News

Gwen awoke snuggled in Yondu’s arms. She looked around the room, and then at her sleeping Centaurian and smiled. It had been a month since she returned to The Eclector, but she still woke up every morning grateful that she was home. Both fully naked, she climbed on top of her Captain and woke him by kissing and nibbling on his neck.

Yondu chuckled and wrapped his arms around Gwen before he even opened his eyes. “Good morning.”

“Yes it is.” She smiled and bit him again. She reached down and slid him inside herself.

Yondu growled and wrapped his fingers in her hair, pulling her to his mouth. The lovers had sex just about every day; either at night before bed, or in the morning when they woke up… sometimes both. They even had a habit of sneaking in quickies in secluded parts of the ship. They were like horny, young teenagers, soaking up every minute of bliss anywhere they could.

In the midst of their love making, the comm rang. Yondu looked over at the desk, annoyed by the intrusion. “What the…? It’s too early for this shit.”

“Ignore it.” Gwen panted, “Call ‘em back.” She continued to ride Yondu and went back to licking his earlobe.

Yondu nodded in agreement and ignored the call. A few seconds later, it rang again. “Oh what fresh hell is this?” He grumbled in irritation.

Gwen huffed in annoyance and stopped. She climbed off of Yondu so he could take the call.

He walked to the desk and sat down, he looked at the screen in confusion. “Stakar?” He said the name with disbelief.

Gwen looked at him with just as much confusion. “Stakar Ogord?” She asked.

Yondu held up his hand for her to be quiet. He connected the call and put on his stern poker face. “Stakar?”

“Yondu” a deep, threatening voice came from the comm. The man sounded much older than Yondu, world-worn, but still intimidating.

Gwen wanted to run over, to see what this Stakar looked like, but she stayed planted firmly on the bed, knowing getting involved with their conversation would be a bad move.

“Whadda you want?” Yondu snorted at the old man.

Gwen furrowed her brow in confusion. She was under the impression Stakar was Yondu’s mentor. Someone he looked up to and trusted. She listened to their conversation very carefully.

“I just wanted to warn you…” The old man started.

“About what?” Yondu seemed eager to end the call.

“My crew is over here in Kree territory, and your name has been thrown around quite a bit the past couple of days. I don’t know what they got plannin’, but I figured you outta be prepared.”

Yondu tensed, but continued as if the news didn’t bother him. “Whadda you care what they say about me? You haven’t spoken to me in nearly thirty years.”

“You’re the one that broke the code, Yondu. Don’t act like this hasn’t-“

“Awe fuck off.” Yondu disconnected the call. He sat quietly, staring out the large window at the stars. He rubbed his chin, noticeably agitated by the news his old Captain sent him.

Gwen was still frozen on the bed. “They’re coming after us?” Her previous concerns about the old man on the comm had seemingly been forgotten.

Yondu wasn’t sure how to respond. Should he tell her not to worry? Should he tell her everything would be alright? It was standard protocol for him to attempt to squash her worries, but this time he couldn’t even convince himself. How was he going to convince her? He let out a sigh, “I don’t know.”

They sat quiet for a long moment, both deep in thought. After a few minutes, Gwen got up and walked quickly to the bathroom. She came out with her uniform and, without a word, began getting dressed.

“What are you doin?” Yondu looked at her puzzled.

“I’m doing something.” She said with a curt tone. She dressed quickly and went to the dresser to put on her holster.

Yondu stood up and followed her to the bathroom to get himself dressed. “What do you mean ‘something’?” He asked again.

“I’m tired of this bullshit.” She stood in front of the mirror and tied her hair back in a braid. “I’m tired of us sitting around waiting for someone else to make the move.”

“What'd you have in mind?” Yondu was intrigued by Gwen’s newfound motivation and was eager to hear what she had to say.

“All he said was that your name was being thrown around. We don’t even know by whom. We don’t know what their plan is, if anything, so for us to sit around shaking in our boots is ridiculous and pointless.”

“Okay.” He encouraged her to continue as he finished getting dressed.

“I say, we keep alert and prepare for a defense. We’ll call Peter and let him know what we found out. He can help when the time comes. Ya’ll defeated one Kree asshole hell bent on destroying the Galaxy, what’s one army hell bent on destroying me?”

Yondu looked at her confused, “It’s an army. A much bigger one.”

“So be it. When the time comes, we’ll deal with it.” She looked at him with confidence in her eyes.

“You sure about this?” He asked her, just to make sure.

“Yondu, I’m tired of cowering from every oppositional force that comes our way.” She stood self-assured in front of him. “I’d rather die with you today, than to continue living in fear of what’s around the corner.”

Yondu had never been so proud of Gwen. She had finally grown into the warrior he knew she was. He no longer had to worry about comforting her. She no longer needed coddling. He gave her a halfcocked smirk, “Alright then, fuck ‘em.”

She walked to the comm, pointing at Yondu “I’ll call Peter. You go tell your men to prepare their ships and be ready to kick some ass.”

Yondu grinned. He walked over and kissed Gwen on the head, “Yes ma’am.” He chuckled as he walked out of the room.

The door shut and Gwen looked back to make sure he was gone. She looked back at the screen just as Peter answered the comm. “Hey Gwen. What’s up?”

Gwen gave him a stern look, “Peter, I need you to tell me everything you know about Stakar Ogord.”


	8. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **SPOILER WARNING** This chapter contains important plot points for Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2!! Since it hasn't even come out on video yet, I felt it necessary to note this before you read further! Be warned!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **SPOILER WARNING** This chapter contains important plot points for Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2!! Since it hasn't even come out on video yet, I felt it necessary to note this before you read further! Be warned!

“Stakar Ogord?” Peter replied to Gwen with shock. “Why do you want to know about him?”

“Just please, tell me everything you know, quickly.” She looked back at the door to make sure Yondu wouldn’t come back through it.

Peter let out a heavy breath as he thought. “Um… he was Yondu’s mentor. He taught him to be a Ravager. I don’t really know what their relationship was like back then.”

“But what happened between them?”

“Stakar disbarred Yondu after he rescued me. I’m kinda the reason they don’t talk anymore.” Peter said sadly.

“Rescued you? I thought he kidnapped you?” This was getting confusing.

“Yeah, that’s where it gets complicated. Okay, one of the very few rules of Ravager code is that you don’t mess with kids. Yondu took a job from my father, Ego. He was to pick up all of his children, from all over the galaxy, and bring them back to him…”

Gwen interrupted, “ _All_ of his children?? How many were there?”

“A lot, but that’s a different story. Anyway, after he picked me up, Yondu learned what he was doing with the kids. He didn’t want me havin’ the same fate, so he kept me. Stakar found out, kicked Yondu out of the factions, and they haven’t spoken since.”

Gwen raised her eyebrows, “Well he just called this morning.”

“No shit? What about?” Peter was surprised.

“Apparently he’s over in Kree territory and he wanted to warn Yondu that we’re on their radar. He didn’t give much info, just said that his name was being thrown around a lot the past couple of days.”

“Wow… he must know more than he’s letting on, if it was serious enough for him to call.”

“That was the other reason I was calling you. To let you know we’re standing our ground. If they come after us, we’re fighting. I’m tired of running from these assholes.” Gwen pursed her lips in frustration.

“You got it, little sis. Send me your coordinates, we’ll be there as quickly as possible.”

 

As soon as Gwen hung up with Peter, she flipped through the comm screen on the desk monitor trying to figure out a way to call Stakar back. She found his name in the call log screen and found the return call button. She nervously, glanced back and forth between the monitor and the door as she waited for him to pick up.

“Yes?” And old, white haired man with a full white beard answered the comm. She recognized his voice immediately.

“Stakar Ogord?” She asked to be sure.

“Yes?”

“My name is Guinevere. You don’t know me, but I need your help.”

He gave her a curt look, “I know who you are. Guinevere Udonta, Yondu’s wife. And I won’t help that bastard any more than I already have.”

He was about to hang up when Gwen stopped him. “Wait! Please! No matter how you feel about Yondu, there are a hundred men on this ship that are going to die if you don’t help us!”

“He broke the code!” Stakar snarled angrily.

“A mistake he made thirty years ago that he has spent a lifetime trying to make amends for!” She looked back at the door again quickly. “He kept Peter, took care of him, and raised him as his own son. And that man, by the way, saved your ass and everyone else’s when he took out Ronan. You remember him, right? The guy who tried to _destroy the_ _galaxy?_ ”

Stakar stared at Gwen, quietly, apparently still trying to decide if intervening was worth it or not. So Gwen continued, “Look, the fact that Yondu’s betrayal hit you so hard, and the fact that you felt the need to call us, tells me that you still care and you obviously have a strong moral compass. Please, if the Kree are really coming after us, don’t leave us dead in the water.”

Stakar stared angrily at Gwen for a few more seconds before finally speaking. “You are quite persuasive, aren’t you?”

Gwen closed her eyes and sighed. She smiled at the old man, “What can I say, I’m good at my job.”

He looked around and then back at Gwen, “They took off this morning. One ship. Ro-Kahn, the Captain, said it should be an easy enough job to pick you guys off by themselves. They should be there in the next twenty-four hours. I don’t know what you did to piss these guys off so bad, but they want you both dead.”

“Apparently they had beef with Yondu previously, and I made it worse when I killed one of their soldiers.”

“Why’d you kill him?” he asked without hesitation.

“The jackhole tried to rape me.” She replied flatly.

Stakar considered Gwen’s response for a moment and then nodded. “We’re on our way.”

“Thank you, so much.” She felt her eyes well up but held it back.

“Tell Yondu to call me himself next time.”

She looked back at the door again. “He has no idea I called you. And I’m not going to tell him a damn thing.”

Stakar grinned at Gwen, “You got balls of steel, kid.”

Gwen grinned smugly and shrugged, “Well… they’re new. What better way to break them in?”

The door to the room opened and Gwen quickly shut off the comm before Yondu walked in.

Yondu nodded to Gwen, “The men are getting ready now. You talk to Peter?”

Gwen sat back and let out a heavy sigh, grateful that he hadn’t caught her. “Yeah. Apparently he heard that one of the Kree ships is already on their way.”

Yondu looked at her suspiciously, “How’d he know that?”

“I dunno.” Gwen replied innocently, “But The Milano will be here later this afternoon. For now, we wait.”

“Alright, let’s go get something to eat. You’re gonna need your strength.”

Gwen was not convinced that food was what she needed. Her stomach felt like it was doing flips and she was sure whatever went in would come right back out. But she went along with it anyway. Maybe some food would settle her. As they walked through the halls, Gwen saw crew members running in all different directions. She saw officers yelling to other crew members, giving them jobs to do and ushering them to do it quickly.

 

Kraglin found them half way to the kitchen and ran to catch up. “Sir, the M-ships are ready to go and we have all weapons online.”

Yondu nodded and kept a swift pace, “Head down to the armory and make sure every crewmen is armed with at least a blaster. I want to make sure everyone has a fighting chance.”

“Yes sir.” And with that, Kraglin was gone again.

 

Yondu walked back into the kitchen and Gwen followed. He opened a cupboard and tossed a small package to her.

“What’s this?” She looked at it peculiarly. The wrapping was completely void of markings.

“Protein bar.” He pulled one out for himself and unwrapped it, tearing off a bite of the chewy bar.

“A protein bar… of course. Even in space, you can’t get away from them.” She sneered at the bar and unwrapped it. She sniffed it suspiciously. “Look at me. I was happily eating fried worms a few weeks ago and now I’m worried about a bar of processed food stuff.”

Yondu chuckled, “They’re not too bad, but they’ll pull your teeth out if you’re not careful.”

She snickered and took a cautious bite. It was grainy and sweet, and very sticky and chewy, but otherwise not too bad. “Well,” she said in between mouthfuls, “let’s just hope it stays down.”

Yondu finished off his bar and threw the wrapper in the trash. He walked over to Gwen and put his hands on her shoulders. “I just want you to know, whatever happens… I’m proud of you.”

Gwen smiled. “I’m kinda proud of me too.” She then sighed. “There’s just one thing I hate about all of this.”

“What’s that?” Yondu asked.

“Well… If I die, that’s one thing. Even if you die, I’d be heartbroken, but…”

“But what?” Yondu urged her to continue.

Gwen gave him a dejected expression, “The thought of all of the men on this ship losing their lives because of me.”

Yondu nodded. “I know. If I could get some of them off the ship I would. But we need the manpower and we can’t waste the time and fuel it would take for the m-ships to get to a nearby planet. And remember, you didn’t do this. You’re just an excuse. A scapegoat. They’ve been after me for a while. With or without you here, it probably would have just been a matter of time.”

Gwen chuckled, “Sure, I’ll just keep telling myself that.”

“C’mon. Got another stop to make.”

 

Yondu took Gwen to the ship deck. He sat down at the helm and took a deep breath before pressing a button on his console. When he spoke, his voice boomed throughout the entirety of the ship. “All hands, this is your Captain. By now, ya’ll should’ve been given a weapon and your orders. I ain’t gonna dick ya here. This is rightly a suicide mission. Ya’ll who’ve made it this far have been good men and you’ve done me proud. I know I’m askin’ a lot, but I gotta ask for one more favor. Whatever happens after this, whether we die tonight or tomorrow or years from now… just take out one fuckin’ Kree on your way out. Let’s make a statement. Let ‘em know they can’t fuck with us without takin’ heavy damage themselves. We ain’t goin’ down without a fight. May the code of the Ravager follow you to the next life. Captain out.”

Yondu sat staring out into space and Gwen could distinctly hear roars and cheers echo all through the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: I intentionally changed Stakar's look from the movie version. I didn't feel Sylvester Stallone looked old enough for the backstory I used here.


	9. Contemplation

“What’s your favorite food?” Yondu ran his lips across Gwen’s hair and then kissed her head. They were snuggled in their bed, soaking up their last few hours together before all hell broke loose.

“Hmmm… probably French fries dipped in a chocolate shake. You?” Gwen had her arms wrapped around his waist, listening to Yondu’s heartbeat.

“Um… lorachti legs.”

“What is that?”

“Like a small reptile. Cook ‘em over a campfire, they’re right tasty.”

Gwen laughed, “Okay.” She reached under Yondu’s shirt, rubbing her hand over his soft skin. “What’s your favorite memory?” She scooted down and pulled up his shirt, kissing his stomach.

“Um…” He thought for a moment and then laughed, “The night you got drunk and I had to help you to your room.”

Gwen sat up and stared at him curiously, “Really? Why?”

Yondu chuckled, “Yeah. You grabbed my jacket and leaned into me. You said I smelled good. The feeling I felt when you did that. I dunno, it shook somethin’ inside me. Felt… odd. I didn’t know it then, but I think that's when I fell for you.”

Gwen bent down and kissed him softly on the lips. “You do smell really good.”

Yondu laughed at her with a wrinkled nose. “How exactly do I _smell_?”

She chuckled, “I don’t know. Like a musky cologne mixed with machine oil. I know now the oil smell comes from the ship. The rest of it is all you.”

Yondu bent down and smelled Gwen’s hair. “You smell like… flowers.”

“Is that bad?”

“Not on you.” Yondu was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “What’s your favorite memory?”

Gwen shook her head, “Nope.”

“What do you mean ‘nope’?”

“You’re gonna laugh at me.”

Yondu chuckled, “I do that anyway, how’s this time any different?”

“It’s embarrassing!”

“Now I really gotta know. Girl, do not send me to my grave with this question on my mind!” He teased her.

“Gah! Alright!” She scoffed, “When I first ran onto the ship.”

“Okay, you were excited. I get that. Why would I laugh?”

“Well… it wasn’t _because_ I was running onto the ship. It was the first time I saw you.”

“Saw me? Your favorite memory is the first time you saw _me_?” Yondu asked confused.

“Yup.” She snuggled her face deeper into his chest.

“Well, I’m not laughin’, but I gotta ask why?”

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Because I’m a dork and I fell hard for you the first moment I saw you. You, standin’ there all ornery at me, and there I was gawking at you like a school girl with a crush.”

Yondu was quiet for a long moment before breaking the silence with a roaring laugh.

Gwen buried her reddened face in his chest, “I told you!”

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight, his laughter dying down. “What in the hell did I do to make you crush on me?”

Gwen shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know. You just had - and you always have - this presence about you. You were angry and intimidating, yet at the same time I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. The color of your skin, the heat in your eyes, your posture; everything about you shouted ‘I don’t hold back’. And that’s what I do. Or rather… did. I held back everything, always. I was perfectly content in my little house with my boring job. I had very few friends and hardly ever went out. I wasn’t living, I was just… floating along.”

Yondu sighed, “But now, 'cause of me, you’re probably going to die. I don’t think your family would ever forgive me for that.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and huffed, “We’ve been through this.”

Yondu’s voice grew tense, “That was before you knew you were gonna die. You have to realize now how ridiculous-“

Gwen snapped up, “The only thing I realize now is how right I was!” she stared at Yondu unwaveringly. “I have _no_ problems dying tomorrow knowing I’ve spent the last month with you, happier than I have ever been! The month I spent back on Earth, with my mother, made me realize she cared more for my safety than my happiness. She would have been perfectly fine leaving me drugged and dejected in a mental hospital as long as I was alive. Don’t you get it Yondu? That’s not living! You _taught_ me that you have to take the bad with the good. And I’ve had _so_ much good in my life the past seven months, that if I have to pay the piper now, I’ll do it willingly. Not full of regret, wondering ‘what if’ or ‘I should have’, but knowing I made the right decision. Damnit Yondu. Stop worrying about trying to save me,” She looked deep into his eyes with adoration “you already have.”  
Yondu just stared at Gwen and let out a hard sigh, shaking his head.

“Besides,” she laid back down, “I can’t let you go to the afterlife without me.”

“Oh yeah? What happens if I die and you don’t?”

“Hmmm…” she thought to herself, “Peter and I will name our first child after you.” She teased.

“Oh! I see how it is!” he smacked her shoulder playfully.

Gwen laughed, “I’m kidding. I’d never end up with Peter. I couldn’t leave this ship.” She waited another moment, “I wonder if Kraglin and I could have kids.”

“Oh now that’s just not right!” Yondu sat up and tackled Gwen into the bed, tickling her sides.

Gwen squealed with laughter, “It’s only fitting!” She breathed, trying to keep Yondu’s hands away, “He’s your second in command, I gotta keep my place!”

“I knew you were up to no good!” He reached down and tickled her inner thigh.

Gwen laughed fitfully. She grabbed his arm and pulled him on top of herself as she rolled over and fell off the bed. The lovers were wrestling around on the floor when the comm alarmed. Yondu jumped up to answer it, “Yeah?”

It was Kraglin, “Sir, The Milano just arrived.”

“I’ll be right down.” Yondu turned to Gwen and pointed at her with a grin, “Saved by your future husband!”

Gwen pulled herself off of the floor and put her jacket back on, “Wait, which one?” she teased and stuck out her tongue.

Yondu tucked his shirt back in as he walked back to her. He pulled her in and kissed her passionately. He spoke sincerely this time, “To tell the truth, if I don’t survive this, Kraglin would be lucky to have you.”

Gwen gave him a solemn smile and shook her head, “Honestly, I can’t think about that right now. The thought of you not being here… it’s too much.”

Yondu hugged her tight. “Let’s go get this over with.”

 

Yondu, Gwen and Kraglin met the Milano at the dock. Peter nodded to Yondu, “Okay so what’s the plan?”

Gwen answered, “As soon as they’re in sight, we start attacking. I don’t want them to get the first move in.”

Yondu jumped in, “They’ll go after the m-ships first with their own fighters. Then they’ll likely try to board us. They’ll want to make sure we’re both dead before they blow the ship.”

“When they do board us, we’ll be ready.” Gwen continued. “I want Ravagers armed to the teeth in every corner of this ship.”

“I can rig some traps for them.” Rocket chimed in.

Peter looked around, “They’ll have to come in through the docking bay. They’ll get bottlenecked at the entranceway where the catwalks meet. We can attack there, keeping them at bay for as long as possible.”

“What’s the goal here?” Gamora asked.

“To kill as many of those bastards as possible before they kill us.” Yondu said flatly.

“You’re not expecting to survive this?” Drax looked at them

“No, we don’t.” Gwen responded. “But we want to make a statement. We want the Kree to know coming after us was a mistake. They may win, but they’ll pay dearly for it.”

“I am Groot!” Groot snapped angrily. “I am Groot.”

Gwen smiled, “Then you’re more optimistic than me.”

Yondu looked at her shocked, “You understood that?”

“Yup.” She smiled.

“What’d he say?” he asked again.

“He said the same thing we’re all thinking,” said Peter sternly.

“He doesn’t expect to die here today,” added Rocket, “And he’ll be damned if you guys do either.”

“Well then.” Gamora smiled, “Let’s get to work.”

 

Gamora, Drax and Groot got busy attaching small bombs Rocket had made underneath the catwalk at each docking port. Rocket, Peter and Gwen walked around the ship placing electrical traps at each corner. Gwen hooked her phone up to the comm system through an electrical panel she found down in the engine room. It was a trick she learned from Rocket. She would be ready to blast the ship with music when the time came, a trick she learned from Peter. It was a great way to boost the crewmen’s moral while simultaneously intimidating your opponent.

Once they finished, they all rested against the walls in the rec room. Yondu walked in with a handful of protein bars and handed them out. The rec room was full of crewmen. Many were quiet, some were laughing, some were shouting Ravager war chants. A few men came up to Yondu and shook his hand. One man sat in a corner holding a photograph and trying to hide his tears. Gwen choked down her protein bar, trying not to throw it back up. Her heart ached for that crewman, and whoever was in the picture he carried. She watched as another crewmen sat down next to him and put his arm around him. It was Merle. Of course it was. Merle had the kindest heart of anyone else she had met on the ship. A tear rolled down Gwen’s cheek but she didn’t notice. Peter reached his hand up and wiped it away. Gwen was pulled out of her trance and looked back at Peter, who smiled at her. Gwen sniffed and wiped her eyes, staring at the ground as she went back to chewing.

Yondu was a few feet away, talking with another crewman when a loud alarm sounded throughout the ship. Red flashing lights lit up all over the rec room and down the hall. Everyone jumped up and ran to their stations. Yondu ran to Gwen just as she scrambled to her feet. He pulled her face into his and kissed her hard. He pulled away and stared into her eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you.” Gwen repeated, stunned. He let go of her face and ran down the hall. She watched after him until he disappeared. It took Gwen a moment to register what was going on. It was time. They were here. And she had to move.


	10. Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is extremely long, at least for me. I didn't want to shorten it or break it up. So here it is, in it's entirety, as it played out in my head. Hope you enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the soundtrack for the songs Gwen plays during the "big scene" in case anyone wants to listen along:  
> Bangarang by Skrillex  
> Bodies by Drowning Pool  
> Black Betty (remix) by Spiderbait  
> Last Resort by Papa Roach

“Let’s move!” Peter yelled to everyone.

Gwen ran out of the rec room through the hallway with a huge crowd of people. The alarms were still going loudly. She ran to the entrance of the ship dock and stood to the side, out of the way, so the pilots could run to their ships. She watched as they took off, with men yelling orders to each other all around. Once the m-ships deployed, the alarms shut off.

 

Yondu took Kraglin’s place at the helm.

“Thirty seconds, sir!” Kraglin shouted to Yondu as he took his place at the controls.

“Ready weapons.” Yondu watched the skies intently.

“Armed, sir.” Kraglin replied.

He waited and watched. A large gray, metal ship appeared in front of them. Twice the size of their own. As soon as the ship was in sight, Yondu gave the order. “Fire!”

A round of blasts shot out from the front of the Eclector and hit the side of the Kree ship. It did very little damage, but hopefully sent a strong message. The m-ships were already firing on the Kree, and their fighters quickly deployed from their own ship to deal with them.

“Fire!” Yondu yelled again.

Kraglin shot another round at the ship. Six more blasts hit the same spot as before. A small explosion lit up the side of the ship.

“Again!”

Six more blasts hit and another explosion.

“Sir, they’re hailing us.” Tullk said with shock.

“Ignore it.” Yondu turned to Kraglin, “Fire again.” He said angrily.

Kraglin shot again. This time a round of blasts shot from the Kree ship and hit the Eclector. The ship boomed loudly and shook.

 

Gwen stood behind a wall at the dock entrance armed with her blaster at the ready, waiting for the Kree ships to fly in. When the blast hit the ship, she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. Gwen was not the praying kind, but she prayed to… whatever… in that moment.

“We’ve got incoming!” Drax yelled from the other side of the hall.

She looked out and saw the first wave of Kree battle ships coming in through the dock. A feeling of rage swept over her. She ran to the bomb controls and was about to start setting them off when Rocket stopped her.

“No Gwen! Not yet!” Rocket ran up behind her and put his hand on her back. He watched the ships landing.

“Why not!” She snapped back.

“Wait until they step off.” He said to her in a low tone.

She looked back and watched, and waited. Her hand shook as it hovered over the button. She grabbed her wrist with her other hand to try to steady herself.

“Easy there, girl. You’ve got this. Just wait.” Rocket encouraged.

More ships entered. The bay doors of the Kree ships started to open and large men began filing out at a running speed.

“Now!” Rocket yelled.

Gwen slammed her hand down on the button and within seconds, the docks began to blow. Balls of fire exploded outwards as bodies flew into the air and the ships began falling to the dock floor below. The sound was deafening. Her ears rang.

“Everybody back up!” Gamora shouted.

Gwen and Rocket ran off to the right, to the next corridor and waited for the second wave. Drax and Gamora went down the opposite hallway. Groot and Peter ran back through the middle, back towards the rec room. Rocket and Gwen looked at each other, weapons at the ready. They waited, catching their breath, when Rocket spoke casually “I upgraded the drive controls on the Milano last week.”

“Oh yeah?” Gwen replied nonchalantly.

“Yeah.”

“That’s cool.” She nodded.

“Yeah,” He continued “Too bad it’s probably going to get destroyed.”

Gwen shrugged one shoulder, “Yeah that kinda sucks.”

“Incoming!” They heard Peter shout through the hallway.

Gwen held her breath waiting for the wave of soldiers to come running through the hall. She heard a rumble of running footsteps and then saw a sea of black uniforms turn the corner towards her and rocket. She began firing from around the corner, hitting whatever she could. Rocket shot from below her. Bodies started falling to the ground. They shot back, nearly hitting Gwen’s head as she ducked back behind the corner. Without warning, something grabbed her from behind. She screamed and swung her arm at whatever it was, but it grabbed her arm.

“It’s me! It’s me Gwen!” It was Peter. She was about to say something but Peter stopped her. “You have to run!”

“What? Why?”

“They’re after you! I heard their captain order them to ‘find the girl’. You have to hide, now!”

“I can’t just leave you all to fight my battle!” She started to argue, but Peter grabbed her jacket and stared her in the eyes.

“As soon as they find you, they’re going to kill you and blow the whole ship! Go! Now!” He demanded harshly.

Gwen wanted to challenge him, but realized it was no use. She ducked off to the side stairwell and ran down it quickly. She ran through the door to the engine room. She ran through the pipes and around the steam vents and hid behind one of the engines. She closed her eyes and waited, internally scolding herself for doing exactly what she told herself she would not do… run and hide.

 

Yondu left his post and went after the invading enemy himself. He whistled, sending his arrow flying through the air. He walked at a quick pace as his arrow sliced through Kree after Kree. He turned a corner and was met with the Kree Captain.

The Kree Captain was a huge man with light blue skin and large muscles. He apparently had quick reflexes too, as he snatched Yondu’s arrow out of the air and snapped it in half.

Yondu’s face paled. “Ro-Kahn?” He said with shock and disgust.

“So you remember me, do you Udonta?” the man spoke with arrogance.

Yondu’s only response was to raise his blaster and shoot, but Ro-Kahn beat him to the punch. He shot Yondu in the shoulder, sending him flying backwards. Ro-Kahn walked over to Yondu and pushed him onto his back with is foot. He looked down at Yondu and grinned, “Nice to see you again, my old slave.”

 

Gwen sat behind the engine with her eyes closed. The ship seemed to grow quiet. She couldn’t hear much with the engines running, but she stopped hearing blasts and booms and the ship stopped shaking. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Gwen jerked when she heard the comm’s PA system turn on.

“Guinevere Udonta.” The unfamiliar voice boomed.

That was not a good sign.

“We have your captain.”

Gwen was sure the man was grinning through his words. It sent chills down her spine.

“Show yourself now or we’ll execute him in front of his entire crew.”

Were they using _him_ as a bargaining chip for _her??_ She was sure they wanted her to get to Yondu, not the other way around. She was now very confused. Either way he was still alive. And they really were after her. And from the sound of it, they didn’t have Peter or any of the crew from the Milano. Gwen grinned to herself. It was time to have some fun. She ducked out from behind the engine and went to find her phone.

 

Yondu was tied to his own chair. He had been beaten bloody. His eyes were swollen almost shut and blood dripped from his nose and mouth.

Ro-Kahn turned to one of his men. “As soon as the girl turns up, slit her throat in front of the slave.”

Yondu coughed “Why?” he whispered, barely able to speak.

Ro-Kahn spat at Yondu angrily. “All these years, you thought you had gotten away with escaping from me?” The man laughed. “No, you were always going to get your punishment.”

“Now?” He whispered again.

“I’ve just been biding my time, Udonta. Your wife killing that soldier gave me the perfect opportunity to single you out from the Ravagers. It took very little convincing the counsel to let me come after you, after your wife once again broke the agreement by leaving Terra.”

“F… fuck you.”

“Still insolent after all these years.” Ro-Kahn sneered and with a quick snap of his wrist, ripped Yondu’s fin from his head.

Yondu cried out in pain. He lowered his head and grew quiet as the blood trickled down to his nose and onto the ground.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise that echoed through the speakers in the ship.

The Kree men looked around baffled, “What is that?” Ro-Kahn said annoyed.

Yondu started laughing. He knew exactly what it was.

 

_Shout to all my lost boys_

_Sho-sho-sho-sho-sho-sho-_

_Shout to all my lost boys_

_We rowdy_

_Shout to all my lost boys_

_Sho-sho-sho-sho-sho-sho-_

_Shout to all my lost boys_

_We rowdy_

_Bangarang!_

The Kree men could hear shouting and cheering all throughout the ship. Ro-Kahn’s pale blue face began to turn red, “Find that bitch!”

Two of his men took off down the hallway. Ro-Kahn turned back to Yondu, who was still laughing, and backhanded him across the face again. Yondu looked up. He spat blood at Ro-Kahn and continued laughing.

 

Gwen snuck out from the engine room door, she was spotted by a Kree soldier, but Gwen shot him and took him out quickly. She ducked down another hallway but was met with another Kree. He grabbed her around the neck. Gwen reached her arms up through his and swung her arms outward. She grabbed his arms in return and kicked him in the junk. The man fell to the ground and Gwen shot him in the head.

She ran into the cafeteria and found Rocket on top of one of the lights hanging from the ceiling. Rocket saw her come in. He put his finger up to his mouth and pointed down behind the serving counter, indicating one of them was hiding, waiting to ambush someone. Gwen quietly snuck up to the counter and ducked. She watched Rocket, who pointed her to move to her left. She scooted over until he gave her the signal to stop. The Kree must have moved, because Rocket told her to go left some more. She did. Rocket told her to stop again and then gave her an eager thumbs up. She jumped up quickly and aimed her gun behind the counter and shot. She nailed the guy right in the head and he fell over, not ever knowing what hit him.

“Ha, ha! Well done, girlie!” Rocket jumped down and met her by the counter.

She stopped to take a breather and holstered her gun. “They’ve got Yondu.” She said hesitantly.

“I know. Which means they won’t kill him until they’ve got you.”

Gwen nodded.

The song on the player changed.

 

_Let the bodies hit the floor_

_Let the bodies hit the floor_

_Let the bodies hit the floor_

_Let the bodies hit the… …_

_Floooooooooor!_

 

Rocket looked at Gwen and grinned “Well you heard the man. Back to work!” He pulled out his gun and took off down the hallway.

Gwen pulled her gun out and took off the other direction.

 

Ro-Kahn stared at the speakers and fumed. “Somebody shut off that damn noise!” Another one of his men took off down the hall. Ro-Kahn looked back at Yondu, who had a smirk on his face. “Your wife is quite the arrogant whore isn’t she?”

Yondu leaned his head back “Learned from the best.” he whispered with a smile.

Ro-Kahn cracked him across the face again, but Yondu still laughed.

 

A group of four Kree men found Gwen wondering through the halls. She ducked through the stairwell and waited behind the door. They ran through the door. One went straight down the stairs while another one went up. Two of the men stayed on the balcony. One found her hiding behind the door. She hit him with her blaster and he fell over the railing. The other one tried to shoot, but missed and she lunged at him, slamming him into the wall. She held him by the neck with her elbow and shot the man coming back down the stairs. The first man who ran down the stairs shot at her. She pulled the man she had pinned in front of her and the first man shot him. She threw him down the stairs at the first man and shot him in the head as he ducked out of the way of the falling body. She jumped on both of them and shot them both again for good measure. She ran back up the stairs to the third floor, shooting the other man again as she ran by.

 

One of Ro-Kahn’s men came running back onto the ship deck, “We can’t find the source of the noise, sir.” Coincidentally, the music changed again.

 

_Whoa Black Betty, bam-ba-lam_

_Go-oh Black Betty, bam-ba-lam_

_Black Betty had a child, bam-ba-lam_

_Damn thing gone wild, bam-ba-lam_

_She’s always ready, bam-ba-lam_

_She’s all rock steady, bam-ba-lam_

_Whoa Black Betty, bam-ba-lam_

_Go-oh Black Betty, bam-ba-lam_

 

“Aaaaaagggghhhh!” Ro-Kahn yelled out and began shooting the console and every control he could find in the cockpit. Still the noise continued. He aimed his gun at Yondu, “Where is it?!”

Yondu chuckled and shook his head, “Not a damn clue.”

Ro-Kahn held the gun to the side of Yondu’s head, “Tell me where she is and maybe I’ll let you live.”

Yondu gritted his teeth and snarled, “Not in a million fucking years.”

 

Gwen ducked out from the stairwell on the third floor she walked carefully to the corner and looked around. She was immediately attacked from behind. The man cracked her across the face with the barrel of his gun, leaving a large gash in her cheek. She fell to the ground, dropping her gun. The man picked up her gun and grabbed her hair, pulling her down the hall by her braid. Gwen screamed.

 

Yondu heard Gwen scream. He jerked up and looked through the doorway in fear. “Gwen?” He whispered.

Ro-Kahn grinned. “Get her!” He shouted to his men. They took off down the hallway.

“No!” Yondu pulled against his restraints, trying to get free.

Ro-Kahn laughed joyfully watching, finally, real pain wash across Yondu’s face.

 

The pain in Gwen’s head was agonizing. She grabbed her dagger. She reached up and sliced the dagger through her hair, cutting off the braid. Her head hit the ground and she jumped up. She turned and stabbed the Kree in the stomach and ran off in the other direction. She ran right into Gamora and screamed again. Gamora covered Gwen’s mouth and signaled for her to be quiet. Gwen fell into Gamora’s arms.

Gamora lowered her to the floor, “Rest a moment. This will all be over soon.” Gamora ran around the corner towards where Gwen had just come from.

“No!” Gwen whispered after Gamora but it was too late. Gwen peaked around the corner and watched the men run towards Gamora.

Gamora grabbed one of the men’s arms and hit him with a flying kick to the face. She pulled her sword out and hit another man across the stomach, slicing him open. Another man shot her sword out of her hand. She fell to the ground. The man kicked Gamora in the face and then pulled her up off the ground. He took off with her around the corner.

Gwen turned her head back, leaning against the wall and cursing silently.

 

“We got her!” One of the men shouted as he walked in with Gamora, her wrists held behind her back.

“Hello, dear.” Gamora said, looking Yondu up and down, “You’re looking a bit disheveled.” She frowned.

“You idiot! That’s not Guinevere!” Ro-Kahn growled.

“How’d you guess?” Gamora glared at Ro-Kahn.

Ro-Kahn nodded to Yondu, “Because he looks at you with as much confusion as I do!” He turned to his men. “Kill her!”

“Yeah, go ahead, kill her.” Yondu whispered through his swollen jaw. “And watch how fast Peter Quill slits your throat.”

“He won’t be slitting anything anytime soon.” Another Kree soldier walked in with Peter bound and gagged.

“What’s the gag for?” Ro-Kahn asked his crewman.

“The dick wouldn’t shut up.” The soldier shrugged.

Ro-Kahn looked back at Yondu, “Are all Terran’s so cocky?”

Yondu shook his head, “Just mine.” He chuckled again.

Another man came onto the deck. “We found this in the hallway.” He threw down Gwen’s gun and her braid.

Ro-Kahn watched again as Yondu’s face contorted with fear. He laughed heartily. “She’s close.”

The music changed again.

 

_Cut my life into pieces_

_This is my last resort_

_Suffocation_

_No breathing_

_Don’t give a fuck if I cut my arm, bleeding_

_This is my last resort_

 

Gwen was close enough to hear the men on the deck talking. They had Yondu, Gamora and now Peter. She felt defeated, but that last song was for her. She couldn’t give up yet. She took a deep breath and stood up. She ran down the hall to the other side of the ship. She only had to hold out long enough for Stakar to arrive… _If_ he was actually coming at all.

Gwen had no idea where Rocket, Drax or Groot were. She didn’t even know if they were still alive. She had lost her gun, her face was bleeding and throbbing and she didn’t know what to do. She opened the door into the stairwell and closed the door behind her. She slowly climbed down the stairs, her dagger in hand. She had almost reached the second floor landing when the door opened. She readied herself for a fight, but sighed with relief when she saw Drax.

“Guinevere!” He held his arms out for her to come to him. She hugged him.

“They’ve taken Peter and Gamora. They’re going to kill them. They took my gun.”

“Then we’ll find another.” He said to her casually.

They walked out into the corridor. Drax pointed out a body lying on the ground a few meters away, likely one that had been hit by Rocket's electrified traps. She ran for it and searched the body. She found a blaster still in his holster. She turned it around in her hands, trying to decide if she could figure it out or not. She found the charge button, but no safety.

“It does not have a safety.” Drax whispered to her.

Gwen nodded and holstered the foreign weapon.

They ran back to the ship deck.

 

The music finally died. Gwen looked around the corner and saw the Kree Captain, Ro-Kahn, looking out the window. She pulled the weapon out and aimed it at his head. Before she could shoot, the gun was blasted out of her hand. She screamed and fell back. Four Kree soldiers jumped out and ambushed her and Drax. They bound her hands behind her back and pulled her into the room.

Ro-Kahn turned around, laughing. “It was a matter of time before you came for him. Stupid girl.”

“I wasn’t coming for him.” She said, struggling against the soldier. “I was coming for you.”

Ro-Kahn ignored her and gestured towards the cockpit seat. “Why don’t you come and take a look at your dear husband now, Mrs. Udonta.”

Gwen looked down and saw Yondu’s arms tied to the chair. The soldier pushed her towards him and rounded the corner. She could see all of him now. Hunched over, his face purple and swollen, a large gash in his head where his fin used to be, and a bleeding wound in his shoulder.

“Oh my god.” Gwen cried, the tears flowing freely from her face.

Yondu looked up at Gwen through swollen eyes. “Gwen?” He whispered. “What happened to you?”

Gwen laughed through her tears, “I have a small cut on my face and you’re worried about me?”

Yondu chuckled, “I meant your hair.”

Gwen laughed loudly, which made Yondu smile.

“Enough!” Ro-Kahn backhanded Gwen across the face.

“Ro-Kahn!” Yondu shouted. “Kill me, but leave her out of this!”

“No!” Gwen yelled, “Kill me! That’s what you want, isn’t it? You want to torture him and you know the only way to do it is to kill me. So do it and get it over with!”

Ro-Khan looked back at Yondu, “Well aren’t you going to object?”

Yondu looked back at Gwen. Gwen nodded and smiled, “It’s time for me to pay up.”

Yondu looked back at Ro-Kahn. “No.”

“No?” He repeated, stunned.

“No.” Yondu sat back in the chair confidently, “Kill her. In fact, gimme the gun and I’ll do it myself.”

“No, give _me_ the gun and _I’ll_ do it myself.” Gwen said with a smirk.

“Or you know,” Yondu shrugged, “You could give us both guns. I’ll shoot her, she’ll shoot me.”

“Oh yeah,” Gwen nodded, “That works too.”

Peter and Gamora looked at each other, bewildered. Drax stared at Gwen like she had three heads.

“Enough!” Ro-Kahn shouted, “ _I’m_ going to kill all of you! Starting with you!” He pointed the gun at Gwen.

Gwen didn’t close her eyes or fear for her life. She only stared at her beaten and battered husband, and smiled. “I love you.”

Yondu smiled back through his pain, “I know.”

 

There was a loud bang. Gwen flinched and closed her eyes. It took her a moment to realize that she, in fact, was not shot. She opened her eyes and looked at herself, then looked around the room, completely baffled. Everyone was staring out the window, even Yondu. She looked out and saw that the Kree ship was exploding… from the inside. She also saw the Milano flying away from the Kree ship, back towards the Eclector.

Drax began to laugh hysterically. “Ha ha ha ha ha! Rocket and Groot blew up your ship! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Ro-Kahn ran to the window, yelling furiously. He looked back at Yondu. “I’ll just have to take this piece of shit back to Hala. This isn’t over yet-“

“Sir!” Another soldier spoke up, still staring out the window.

“What?!” Ro-Kahn shouted. He looked back out the window and saw another large ship coming into view.

The comm rang loudly through the room.

“Whoever they are, they’re hailing the Eclector.” The soldier looked back at Ro-Kahn with a raised eyebrow.

Ro-Kahn tried to answer the comm, but he had previously shot the console, shorting out the buttons. Yondu nodded to a switch on the main controls “Try that one.” He said with a sarcastic tone.

Ro-Kahn back handed him again, “Shut up!” He walked over and pushed the button. The main screen popped up and there was Stakar Ogord.

“Captain Ogord? What are you doing here?”

“Ro-Kahn, I order you to stop now or we’ll be forced to fire on you.”

“They’ve already blown up my ship! You can’t do much worse! Besides, I thought you hated Yondu. Why are you even here?!”

“Let’s just say I’ve been persuaded to change my views recently. Hello again, Gwen.”

Yondu looked over at Gwen, shocked and confused.

Gwen nodded, “Hello Captain.”

Ro-Kahn growled and bared his teeth. “Let me kill Yondu, I’ll leave the girl, and I’ll come with you willingly.”

Stakar snarled at Ro-Kahn, “You kill Yondu and I’ll destroy the entire ship, you and your men along with it.”

Just then, Rocket and Groot came into the room with weapons trained on Ro-Kahn. “Alright, party’s over, asshole! Let ‘em go.”

Ro-Kahn sighed in defeat. He was about to put his weapon down, but then raised it towards Yondu. Before he could get his weapon aimed, Groot shot him three times in the chest, slamming him back against the screen.

Stakar sighed and shook his head. “He did it to himself.”

“Drop your weapons! All of you!” Rocket yelled again.

The Kree soldiers all put their weapons to the ground and raised their hands. Rocket came around and untied everyone while Groot kept his gun on the soldiers. As Rocket untied Gwen, she turned around and hugged Rocket. This time Rocket just hugged her back and smiled.

“I am Groot.” Groot smiled.

“Yeah, I know,” Rocket rolled his eyes, “Shut the hell up about it.”

Gwen ran to Yondu, kneeling in front of him, and untied his hands carefully. Yondu fell forward into her arms. “Hang on baby, I gotcha.” She whispered to him.

Stakar was still on the comm watching everything.

“Looks like you guys didn’t need us after all.”

Gwen looked back at the screen with Yondu half passed out and leaning over her shoulder, “I’d be dead right now if you guys hadn’t shown up." She gave the captain a solemn smile. “Thank you.” She whispered to Stakar.

Stakar nodded, “We’ll be down in a few minutes. We’ll help wherever we can.” He nodded to the Kree soldiers, "Including taking out the trash." He disconnected the call. Gwen and Peter were going to try to carry Yondu out, but Groot came over and picked him up in his giant arms. “I am Groot?”

Gwen nervously ran her hands through her hair, “Um… In his bed, I guess, for now. I’ll take you down there.”

Peter hugged Gwen and she finally broke down, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. “Come on, let’s go take care of the old man.” He patted her back and led her off the deck.

The three of them walked off with Yondu to the Captain’s quarters while Gamora, Drax and Rocket led the remaining surviving soldiers to the ship docks to be handed over to Stakar.


	11. The end of the beginning

It was only after everything had calmed down that Gwen learned the extent of the damages to the ship and the crew. The majority of the fighting had occurred in the rec room. The Ravagers ambushed a large number of Kree, which handicapped Ro-Khan early on. Even if he had killed Gwen and Yondu, he still wouldn’t have left the ship alive. Kraglin had been waiting in the docks for the Kree Captain to attempt to return to his ship. He was both shocked and relieved when he saw the Milano crew returning with prisoners instead.

“The Captain? Gwen?” Kraglin asked anxiously.

“They’re alive.” Gamora reassured him, “Although Yondu is in pretty bad shape.”

“Where are they?”

“They took him to his quarters.” Rocket added.

“Anyone know if the medic is still alive?” Kraglin asked nervously.

Gamora just shook her head somberly, “If he isn’t, let Stakar know. He can bring his medic from his ship.”

Kraglin was stunned “Stakar? How?”

“Guinevere called him and convinced him to send aide. Luckily, he arrived just in time.” Drax replied.

Gamora nodded towards the bay, “Stakar is bringing ships to take the Kree into custody. We need help getting as many of the Kree ships out of here to make room.”

“I’ll need to take a head count to see who’s still standin’ and I’ll send them down here asap. But I’ve gotta find the medic first.” Kraglin pointed to the third row docks above, “We’ve got two open and undamaged bays up there. Stakar can start there and get these assholes off our ship.”

Kraglin ran off to find the medic. Luckily he was still alive. He had been hiding in the medbay, away from all of the action seeing as he had no fighting experience at all. A fact Kraglin was thankful for. He ordered him to Yondu’s quarters to attend to the Captain.

Kraglin’s head was spinning. With Yondu injured as badly as he was, Kraglin was now officially in command. Normally he had no problem taking the helm while Yondu was away, but the fact that he had to clean up the mess from the battle was leaving him feeling wracked. He decided his next task should be to headcount the officers and then have them headcount each of their divisions. He found Moab, Tullk and Horuz. Geff and Roark were still missing and sadly, Marlon was found dead in the rec room. He gave Moab, Tullk and Horuz their orders and then ordered all of the remaining crew to find all of the dead bodies and bring them to the rec room. Dead Ravagers on one side and dead Kree on the other. The Kree would be vented, and once the chaos died down on the ship, there would be a funeral for the Ravagers. Kraglin was torn between fulfilling his duties and checking on the Captain. But he knew there was nothing he could do for Yondu, and so much needed to be done. So he waited.

 

Gwen, Peter and Groot waited in the Captain’s quarters for the medic. Groot sat on the floor staring out the picture window. Peter was resting on the couch and Gwen sat on the bed next to Yondu, holding his hand.

Yondu had been in and out of consciousness since Gwen pulled him from the cockpit. Every time he woke, he tried to look around the room through his swollen eyes and asked for Gwen. And every time, Gwen would squeeze his hand and say “I’m right here, Baby. You’re going to be okay. Just rest.” And he would fall back to sleep.

There was a knock at the door and Peter jumped up to answer it. It was the medic, finally. “How is he?” the old man asked Peter.

“That’s what we were hoping you could tell us, Doc.” Peter responded a bit harshly.

“Well let’s take a look.” Doc sat down on the opposite end as Gwen and shined a small flashlight into Yondu’s eyes. He had to pull his swollen lids open to find his pupils. Yondu grumbled and turned his head away once the light hit his eyes. “Well that’s a good sign at least.” He shined the light on the crest of his head, where his fin had previously been attached. “There’s a lot of damage here. I won’t be able to reattach the fin. He’ll need an electrical tech for that. And a good one.”

“That’ won’t be a problem.” Gwen nodded to Peter, “Can you go get Rocket?”

Peter shook his head, “I’m not leaving. Hey Groot, you mind?”

“I am Groot.” Groot stood up and headed towards the door.

Peter patted him on the back on the way out, “Thanks, man.”

Doc smoothed his hands all around Yondu’s face and head, “I don’t feel any broken bones, but he’ll need a full eval in the medbay as soon as we can move him.” He nodded to Yondu’s shoulder, “Help me get his coat off, would you?”

Gwen slipped Yondu’s arm out of his good side and then helped Doc turn him to slide the coat underneath. They tried to turn him back over to the other side, but Yondu yelled out in pain. “Shhhh… Baby we’ve got to get your jacket off. This is gonna hurt, but it’ll be over quick, okay?”

Yondu slowly nodded. Doc nodded to Gwen, “One, two, three.” And with that, they pulled him over quickly, while he shouted, and Gwen slipped the other sleeve off. They gently laid him back down.

They decided it would be better to cut his vest and dress shirt off than try to move him again. As soon as they did, they saw black and purple bruises all over Yondu’s chest and stomach. Gwen gasped and covered her mouth.

Doc shook his head. “There’s nothing I can do here. The damage is too extensive. I have to get him to the medbay. He has broken ribs, possibly a broken collar bone, and who knows how much internal organ damage. I’ll go get a stretcher. I’ll be back soon.” And with that, Doc ran out of the room.

Peter stood behind Gwen with hands on his head. “How did he survive this?” Peter whispered to Gwen.

Gwen sighed and looked back at Peter, “Sheer will and stubbornness is my guess.”

“Wasn’t… gonna let that bastard… win.” Yondu whispered hoarsely.

Gwen raised an eyebrow and scoffed, “See?”

When the dust settled, they discovered that forty-two Kree and twenty six Ravagers had lost their lives. Two of the officers, Roark and Marlon, were among the dead, and Gwen was heartbroken to learn that Merle had suffered the same fate. Stakar and his crew stayed with the Eclector through the week, helping with cleanup and repairs. Yondu had four broken ribs and a broken collar bone on top of the wound in his right shoulder from Ro-Kahn’s gun. Luckily he had no internal bleeding. Rocket was able to reattach Yondu’s fin after the swelling had gone down and he was kept sedated most of the time to give his body time to heal. This meant that Kraglin was forced to continue as acting captain until Yondu was well enough for duty.

 

Gwen and Peter stayed by Yondu’s side almost constantly, leaving only to get food, change clothes or shower. When one left, the other one stayed until they returned. Gwen filled her time by reading every English book she could find. And when she ran out, she started reading the books in foreign languages, even though she couldn’t actually read them. She often read aloud to Yondu, hoping it might cheer him up. On this particular night, Gwen had been reading an old Centaurian volume that she didn’t understand, but enjoyed reading the words anyway. “Gr… gro…. grotti ama deeramo-“

“Grotti ama dayamo.” Yondu’s still weak voice filled the small room and Gwen snapped her head up in surprise. She looked up to see him smiling at her. She beamed at him with an eager grin.

“So what does that mean?” She asked him casually.

Yondu cleared his throat. “It means ‘I’ll follow you to the stars’.”

“Sounds romantic.” Gwen replied.

“He’s talkin’ 'bout death. When he dies, his spirit will follow his ancestors to the stars.”

Gwen closed the book, “Well… I’m going to pretend it’s romantic anyway.”

Yondu laid back again and closed his eyes, “I guess it could be.”

“Hey, hey, look who’s awake.” Peter said as he walked into the room. He handed Gwen a sandwich and a beer.

Yondu peered at them with one eye and grumbled, “Where’s mine?”

“Nice try old man.” Peter sat down on a chair next to Gwen and opened his own beer bottle, “No food or drink for you ‘til Doc says so.”

“Screw Doc. I’m the Captain, _I_ say so.”

“Actually Kraglin is Captain right now… also until Doc says so.” Peter snickered.

“Damnit.” Yondu scrunched his face and closed his eyes again. “Well what the hell _can_ I do?”

Gwen slouched back in her chair, resting her head on her fist, “You might not have to worry about that. Doc might put you back under if you’re still in too much pain.”

“Or if he doesn’t keep his ass in that bed.” Peter mumbled into his bottle.

Yondu peeked his eye open again, “I heard that, you ungrateful Terran.”

Gwen raised her eyebrow at Peter, “Could you _please_ stop giving him more ammunition?”

“Hell no. It’s my job.” He teased.

Gwen rolled her eyes and huffed, “Then go find a new job.” She waved her hand at him. “Go on. Get out. Go find something to do. I’m sure Kraglin can keep you busy.”

“You’re serious.” He looked at her dumbfounded.

“Yes! Now go! Before I pull rank on you.” She teased.

Peter stood up and walked to the door with mock irritation, “I bring you food and this is the thanks I get. I see how it is!” And he exited the room with Peter Quill quality flair.

After Peter left, Gwen peeked out the door to make sure no one was coming. “Here,” she handed half the sandwich to Yondu, “If you tell Doc I did this I’ll string you up myself.”

Yondu took the food gingerly and nibbled off a small bite. He laid his head back down and moaned with gratification.

“Easy there, Cap. Someone’s liable to think I’m taking advantage of you in your weakened condition.” She grinned.

He smirked back, “Don’t gimme any ideas.”

“Sorry babe. You’re off limits until Doc clears you for _active duty_.” She winked taking a bite of her sandwich.

“No food, no beer, no sex… I must've really died cause I’d swear I was in hell.”

“Hell is a Terran thing. And seeing as you’ve yet to turn into a brightly lit cluster of stars, you’re unfortunately still stuck here on the Eclector with me.” She gave him a big toothy green before taking a drink of her beer. “Here” She handed him the bottle, taking back what was left of the sandwich. “Quick chug and then hand it back.”

Yondu slowly sat up and put the bottle to his lips. Gwen held the back of his head and helped steady the bottle. He took a hard pull and then laid back down. “You are too good to me, girl.”

“You deserve it after what you just went through.”

Yondu watched Gwen for a long moment before speaking again, “There’s just one thing I gotta ask you.”

“What’s that?” She asked, taking another drink.

Yondu turned back to the bed, looking disappointed, “Why'd you call Stakar?”

Gwen almost choked on her beer, swallowing hard, “Um…” She had been fearing this conversation for days, knowing he was going to be angry for going behind his back.

“Don’t try to lie to me, girl. I heard him on the comm. I may have been out of it, but I remember him sayin' someone persuaded him. I know that was you.”

Gwen gave Yondu a defensive glare, “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“No,” He snapped back, “You’ll just sneak around behind my back?”

“Because I knew you would object!”

“You’re damn right I would!” His voice grew louder.

Gwen stood up heatedly “He saved our lives! You want to be pissed off at me? Fine! But I’m not going to apologize for calling him!” She took one last pull on her beer and then forcefully threw the bottle in the trash as she headed out of the medbay. She ran right into Stakar Ogord who, coincidentally, was walking in. Gwen turned back to Yondu and gestured flamboyantly towards Stakar, “Here! Now you can direct your anger to the person you’re really mad at!” She gave Stakar a curt nod and stormed out.

Yondu glared and turned away, staring out the window on the opposite wall.

Stakar gave Yondu an awkward smile, “Looks like you’re feeling better.”

“Piss off.” Yondu snarled, still refusing to look at his old Captain.

“Definitely feeling better.” Stakar corrected.

“What the hell do you want? Why are you still here?” Yondu was already tiring of the conversation.

“Don’t be angry with Gwen, she was only doing what she thought was best.”

“No, she’s right. I ain’t mad at her. She’s not the one who discarded me thirty years ago!” Yondu barked.

“You know what you did, Yondu.” Stakar rolled his eyes with exasperation.

“Oh would you shut up already! I know exactly what I did! And I tried to fix it and you didn’t care! Nobody cared! Like you ain’t never screwed up before!”

“Well…” Stakar raised an eyebrow, “you got a girl out there who helped me realize that I may have been a bit too hard on you. Reminded me what that boy of yours did for all of us.”

Yondu stared down at his hands, the bruises still visible around his wrists. “Yeah,” he chuckled, “she’s kinda good at that.”

Stakar laughed and shook his head, “That girl could talk a predator out of its prey.”

Yondu grinned, “You shoulda seen what she did to Burk. I swear that man almost wet himself." 

Both of the men laughed. Stakar sat down next to Yondu and they struck up a conversation about the old days and caught each other up on old friends. Gwen, who had been listening from outside the medbay, smiled proudly and walked off down the hall.

 

It took another week before Yondu was up and walking around again. Still not one to show weakness, he stayed in his room most of the time until he could walk upright without wincing. He took over minor duties from his room but kept Kraglin at the helm until Doc cleared him for full duty. Stakar and his crew stayed for a total of two weeks. They had completed most of the repairs on the ship and taken care of all of the Kree, both alive and dead, and their ships. Gwen was grateful to be rid of them. It would be too soon before she had to deal with that race again. She hoped they’d finally gotten the message that Yondu and his crew were not to be messed with. And now that they had the backing of the entire Ravager clan again, they would not be without back up a second time.

They also held a large Ravager funeral for all of the fallen crewmen. Gwen was amazed at the extravagance of it all. It was a brilliant light show, a sendoff you’d imagine would only be reserved for kings. Yondu explained it was a way to celebrate their arrival to their next life. Gwen liked it better than the Terran’s practice of mourning and talking of regret.

Peter refused to leave the Eclector until Yondu was back at the helm. He was willing to stay on as long as it took. Almost losing Yondu made him realize how important he was to him and he wasn't going to take advantage of having him around anymore. He’d already lost enough family in his life.

 

Yondu, Gwen and Kraglin went to the docks to see off Stakar.

Stakar smiled and squeezed Yondu’s hand, “It’s good to see you again, old friend.”

Yondu nodded, “Let’s not wait another thirty years.”

Stakar nodded back and turned to Gwen, “Thank you, for making me realize how stubborn I’ve been.” He held his hand out to shake hers, but she ignored it and hugged him instead.

“Thank you for everything.” She pulled back and smiled.

Stakar waved goodbye to everyone and took off in his m-ship.

Gwen held Yondu’s hand. “C’mon, old man. Let’s get you back to your room.” The only reason Yondu allowed Gwen to even hold his hand was because he was using it to steady himself. He decided it was better to let the crew see that rather than him hobbling around like a cripple. As soon as they returned to the room, Yondu shrugged out of his coat and tossed it over the chair.

“So,” he wrapped his arms around Gwen’s waist, “When do we get to practice makin’ diaper fillers again?” He grinned at her mischievously.

Gwen raised her eyebrow at Yondu and scolded him teasingly, “Not until Doc says it’s okay. And considering you can’t even bend down to kiss me without pain yet, I’m guessing it’s not okay.”

“What are you talkin’ about I can bend down…” He tried to lean forward to reach his lips to hers but stopped himself short. He huffed and stood back up. “Damnit.”

“See,” she stood up on her tiptoes so he could reach her for a kiss, “Now get back in bed. I’ll grab another book.” She walked off to the bookshelf to find one she could read.

“No,” He sat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled his boots off. “Tell me one of your Terran stories.” He slowly laid back in the bed and patted Gwen’s pillow for her to come sit next to him.

“Really? What kind of story?” She asked curiously, sitting down and gingerly snuggling into Yondu’s arms.

Yondu looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment, “Tell me about this Captain Kirk you and Peter are so keen on.”

Gwen’s eyes beamed, “Oh, babe, you are in for a treat!” she clapped her hands excitedly.

“Oh yeah?” He smiled at her exuberance and kissed the top of her head, as he so often did.

“Oh yes! Well… it all started about 50 years ago with a man named Gene Roddenberry…”

 

                                                  - The end -


End file.
